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Why I am not going to buy a computer (1987) [pdf]

thehangedman.com

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Re: Why I am not going to buy a computer (1987) [pdf]

#101

Post by WalterBright »

iRomain wrote: post #27

I laughed so hard at Gordon Inkeles' response. Wendell Berry: My wife types my work on a Royal standard typewriter bought new in 1956 and as good now as it was then. As she types, she sees things that are wrong and marks them with small checks in the margins. Gordon Inkeles: Wendell Berry provides writers enslaved by the computer with a handy alternative: Wife - a low-tech energy-saving device. Drop a pile of handwri…

My mom typed my dad's book manuscript over and over and over again. Even a simple computer revolutionized that inhumane practice.

When I worked at Boeing circa 1981, I was expected to write documents out longhand and then hand it to the secretary pool to type. Screw that. I invaded the word processing room, a windowless room with about 20 women working on Wang word processors, with a supervisor facing them. With all the charm I could muster, I talked the supervisor into letting me use one. She warned me that it was very difficult to learn, and I must take a 2 week Wang course beforehand. I said nah, just gimme the manual, and I was using it in 5 minutes (she was horrified by that).

Re: Why I am not going to buy a computer (1987) [pdf]

#103

Post by ajuc »

dredmorbius wrote: post #98

Berry's nine standards for technology are worth considering: 1. The new tool should be cheaper than the one it replaces. 2. It should be at least as small in scale as the one it replaces. 3. It should do work that is clearly and demonstrably better than the one it replaces. 4. It should use less energy than the one it replaces. 5. If possible, it should use some form of solar energy, such as that of the body. 6. It s…

I can't think of 1 invention in history that fullfil all of these.

Re: Why I am not going to buy a computer (1987) [pdf]

#104

Post by benhoyt »

iRomain wrote: post #27

I laughed so hard at Gordon Inkeles' response. Wendell Berry: My wife types my work on a Royal standard typewriter bought new in 1956 and as good now as it was then. As she types, she sees things that are wrong and marks them with small checks in the margins. Gordon Inkeles: Wendell Berry provides writers enslaved by the computer with a handy alternative: Wife - a low-tech energy-saving device. Drop a pile of handwri…

Berry's response to that (and similar) letters is quite sharp, but fair, I thought:

> I am also surprised by the meanness with which two of these writers refer to my wife. In order to imply that I am a tyrant, they suggest by both direct statement and innuendo that she is subservient, characterless, and stupid -- a mere "device" easily forced to provide meaningless "free labor." I understand that it is impossible to make an adequate public defense of one's private life, and so I will only point out that there are a number of kinder possibilities that my critics have disdained to imagine: that my wife may do this work because she wants to and likes to; that she may find some use and some meaning in it; that she may not work for nothing. These gentlemen obviously think themselves feminists of the most correct and principled sort, and yet they do not hesitate to stereotype and insult, on the basis of one fact, a woman they do not know. They are audacious and irresponsible gossips.

Re: Why I am not going to buy a computer (1987) [pdf]

#105

Post by zhte415 »

jklm wrote: post #71

His arguments are, paraphrased: 1. It hurts nature. 2. It's too expensive and destroys existing jobs. 3. It's unlikely that it's better than the current tech. And that he won't fall for the "propaganda campaign" that says otherwise. --- What I find super fascinating here is that the arguments back then and now are...extremely similar. Look at any cutting-edge tech - EVs, crypto, etc. - and you find the same arguments…

I propose we radically overhaul out diets by boosting the consumption of bees.

1. The consumption of bees has been suggested to be harmful to the pollination of plants. This is a fallacy. Not only will the consumption of bees increase the pollination of plants, but plants can be pollinated by hand.

2. The consumption of bees is not a threat to the existing honey industry. Skills in the production of honey can be applied in the harvesting of more bees.

3. Consumption of bees is superior to existing consumption of honey because bees contain a powerful combination of amino acids, the building blocks of life. Protein from bees relieves the traditionally polluting industries such as poultry and dairy. Honey is a natural preservative, ensuring the nutrition from bees is locked-in and can be stored for years, decades or longer. Bees can be produced on hillsides and other locations that traditionally have been resistant to intensive environmentally friendly farming. There is no threat to the maple syrup industry.

I will not fall to the anti-change propaganda, and nor should you. Come found the kick-starter for my ICO, details on my profile page.

Re: Why I am not going to buy a computer (1987) [pdf]

#106

Post by etothepii »

benhoyt wrote: post #104
iRomain wrote: post #27

I laughed so hard at Gordon Inkeles' response. Wendell Berry: My wife types my work on a Royal standard typewriter bought new in 1956 and as good now as it was then. As she types, she sees things that are wrong and marks them with small checks in the margins. Gordon Inkeles: Wendell Berry provides writers enslaved by the computer with a handy alternative: Wife - a low-tech energy-saving device. Drop a pile of handwri…

Berry's response to that (and similar) letters is quite sharp, but fair, I thought: > I am also surprised by the meanness with which two of these writers refer to my wife. In order to imply that I am a tyrant, they suggest by both direct statement and innuendo that she is subservient, characterless, and stupid -- a mere "device" easily forced to provide meaningless "free labor." I understand that it is impossible to…

I'm not sure it is fair. The tone of the essay to me reads as one written by someone who never thought to ask.

My wife routinely proof reads my work, and she does do it because she loves me, but I am not so foolish as to believe she loves doing it.

Re: Why I am not going to buy a computer (1987) [pdf]

#107

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

User23 wrote: post #76
microtherion wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

cf. E.W. Dijkstra in 1986: https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD09xx/E... I have often been asked why I don't use [Word Processors], and my honest answer has always been that there is for me so much to write that I cannot afford the use of these time-saving devices. Like Berry, Dijkstra took the existence of menial labor for producing printed or typed products for granted, although, to be fair, for m…

I think he found something about handwriting to be more natural for the manuscripts he wanted to write. A good pen and paper note taking system can allow freer more direct expression than some sort of editor program.

His typewriter broke. It was customized with symbols and couldn't be easily substituted with a new replacement.

Re: Why I am not going to buy a computer (1987) [pdf]

#108

Post by magic_hamster »

chx wrote: post #86
iRomain wrote: post #27

I laughed so hard at Gordon Inkeles' response. Wendell Berry: My wife types my work on a Royal standard typewriter bought new in 1956 and as good now as it was then. As she types, she sees things that are wrong and marks them with small checks in the margins. Gordon Inkeles: Wendell Berry provides writers enslaved by the computer with a handy alternative: Wife - a low-tech energy-saving device. Drop a pile of handwri…

What about Sister. Frigyes Karinthy, a very famous Hungarian author active roughly 1910-1935 rightly famous for his humorous writing. He is also often billed as a translator -- this, however, is not quite true. His son, much later, in 1981, confessed he had a mentally ill sister, Emilia -- as an example, she used to put buttered toast in her handbag as is -- who nonetheless was a translator genius. She spoke 15-20 la…

Fun story. About Wikipedia, I found it fairly easy (even too easy) to introduce changes given you can cite literally every claim you type.

Re: Why I am not going to buy a computer (1987) [pdf]

#109

Post by LaGrange »

LaGrange wrote: post #94
iRomain wrote: post #27

I laughed so hard at Gordon Inkeles' response. Wendell Berry: My wife types my work on a Royal standard typewriter bought new in 1956 and as good now as it was then. As she types, she sees things that are wrong and marks them with small checks in the margins. Gordon Inkeles: Wendell Berry provides writers enslaved by the computer with a handy alternative: Wife - a low-tech energy-saving device. Drop a pile of handwri…

I too snickered at that reply. Then I scrolled, and found his answer adequate. This doesn't mean that exploitation of women as unpaid labor is fake, it's _extremely_ rare. But, on the other hand, it's not inconsistent for someone suggesting _relying on your community_ to, you know, _accept help from said community_. The issue with the unpaid labor of women isn't that we're helping our families, or even that we're not…

> it's _extremely_ rare.

...it's extremely _real_. I wish it was rare.

Re: Why I am not going to buy a computer (1987) [pdf]

#110

Post by DoctorNick »

dredmorbius wrote: post #98

Berry's nine standards for technology are worth considering: 1. The new tool should be cheaper than the one it replaces. 2. It should be at least as small in scale as the one it replaces. 3. It should do work that is clearly and demonstrably better than the one it replaces. 4. It should use less energy than the one it replaces. 5. If possible, it should use some form of solar energy, such as that of the body. 6. It s…

Referring to his wife as a tool… I have to wonder if that marriage lasted
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