What Do We Want, Really?
thefrailestthing.com
What Do We Want, Really?
1–10 of 67 posts
Re: What Do We Want, Really?
#2Until you get sick and you are happy to have access to modern medicine. #Sight.
Re: What Do We Want, Really?
#3I like the article and and the point that it makes using the Amish people as an example.
But the Amish did not make a conscious decision to refrain from watching TV. No, the Amish shied away from electricity because of a religious belief that was in place before Television even existed. It is also worth noting that the Amish do not believe in education past 8th grade, and yet everyone would raise their hands if they were asked if they would want their children to go to college.
Re: What Do We Want, Really?
#4I don't think my kids would be better off without TV, and I suspect most people don't actually think that, either.
TV (just as books) is a tool for delivering entertainment, education, and culture, and it's reasonably effective at that.
I'm glad I had TV when I was a child. The thing I value most is that it inspired an interest in science, math, and technology. Thanks, Square One, Bill Nye, Beakman's World, Discover, etc! Later on in life (teenage years), it taught me about time management; you can allow yourself to be entertained for many hours and not actually feel better for it, but actually worse, as you've lost that time; you can allow yourself to be entertained for an hour and it will change your whole outlook on the day. Always be aware of what you are gaining and giving up for entertainment.
Anyway, I could go on about why I love TV (and these days, the Internet), that's the gist.
Re: What Do We Want, Really?
#5I don't think my kids would be better off without TV, and I suspect most people don't actually think that, either. TV (just as books) is a tool for delivering entertainment, education, and culture, and it's reasonably effective at that. I'm glad I had TV when I was a child. The thing I value most is that it inspired an interest in science, math, and technology. Thanks, Square One, Bill Nye, Beakman's World, Discover,…
You're espousing an ultra-modern perspective, one that can only happen from an entire life lived in the presence of ultra-modern technology.
Such a perspective is limited only to the affluent and Western-oriented. That's a ridiculously tiny fraction of humanity. And even there it's only been for the last 20 years or so, I suspect closer to 10-15. It wasn't that long ago most people considered the Internet a tool for commerce, not a vehicle for connection and entertainment, people that used it as such were looked at as basement-dwelling perma-nerds.
Re: What Do We Want, Really?
#6Until you get sick and you are happy to have access to modern medicine. #Sight.
The Amish do use modern medicine. At least some of them. It depends on the community.
Re: What Do We Want, Really?
#7We need to be thankful that pockets of extreme nonconformity exist to show an alternative to groupthink. People are so eager to mock or crush any diversity. Average people can't stand the idea that there are places in the world with extreme differences like (a) much higher or lower tax (using the U.S. as reference point), (b) drug attitudes far softer or much worse, (c) political structures (even the "evil" ones, speaking from the American POV), (d) far different cultural attitudes about sex, marriage, drinking, and every other moral issue. If the world didn't have all this diversity, we'd never know that there's an alternative to what we thought was the best way.
Re: What Do We Want, Really?
#8Until you get sick and you are happy to have access to modern medicine. #Sight.
I don't think anybody is arguing against modern medicine. The argument is to question the real value that technology adds to your life, family, and community. Modern medicine clearly has value.
And your answers may differ from the next person's. And that is fine - the point is to think about it and make a choice, instead of just a blanket assumption that all technology is always better.
Re: What Do We Want, Really?
#9I like this article - agree with the others that it gives the luddite concept a little too much love and doesn't properly recognize the huge benefits of mass media and tech, but still, the basic realization that self-determination in the face of enabling technology, media, culture etc. almost always requires real hard work and sacrifice is something worth contemplating - perhaps more importantly, interesting to consider that the utilization of all society/progress has to offer is in some cases the opposite of self-determination.
I might keep reading this blog.
Re: What Do We Want, Really?
#10I think the comments so far are getting too caught up in the details of the article.
The point is not whether or not you like TV, or what choices the Amish have made. The point is to engage in a thoughtful decision process with technology, (or anything else in your life), and decide if it truly is helping you be the person you want to be, helping your family to grown on a personal level, and improving your community.
If you have truly thought it out and decided that any given tech is good for your life, great. But if you are just bringing technology into your life because it is new and shiny, you might want to consider stepping a level or two deeper in your decision process.