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Why the Luddites Matter

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Re: Why the Luddites Matter

#121

Post by UncleMeat »

noir_lord wrote: post #115
pdimitar wrote: post #51

> you do not have to let a tech company screaming “technological progress” in your face turn you into a paragon of passivity This was the article's highlight for me. As a senior programmer I found myself saying "no" to more and more tech nowadays -- smart speakers are and will always be not welcome in my house, I carefully study mobile app permissions and deny everything but the absolutely necessary minimum (on my mo…

I'm with you, there are entire classes of technology I resent and avoid and it's getting worse as I get older. My "smart TV" is a 4K Samsung with all it's smart features turned off connected to a PC running Xubuntu because that way I have control over it. I don't own a single IoT thing, I have about 5 apps installed on my phone (4 of which are Chess related, 1 is my bank), I use the mobile web for everything else, if…

Great? Most people are HN readers who can do this sort of thing. Most people have "tv that can just show tv" and "new technology that can also embed netflix or whatever" as options.

Re: Why the Luddites Matter

#122

Post by isostatic »

pdimitar wrote: post #118
isostatic wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on what you're watching, but to be immersed you're looking for a 16:9 screen to be 30 degrees of width (for immersive cinema you want 40") At 8', that's 60" screen size for 30 degrees (80" for cinema) Now I treat these with a pinch of salt, they're SMPTE values, and the last SMPTE event I went to we all agreed that in the UK 4K is pretty much pointless for 80% of the country, but SMPTE can't say that because…

That's the real problem with modern TVs. Several "upgraded" aspects come together in a bundle: • Bigger screens. • Much better screens (like QLED by Samsung). • Better hertz values (doesn't irritate the eyes). • More "smart" builtin software and firmware, with tons of bugs and security holes. • Bigger resolution. I'd take all of the above points except the smart TV software. To be perfectly fair I also think 4K is th…

8K exists, and will be in use for at least some of the 2020 olympics.

why will 5-10 years make any difference? Will living rooms become larger?

Re: Why the Luddites Matter

#123

Post by pdimitar »

isostatic wrote: post #122
pdimitar wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the real problem with modern TVs. Several "upgraded" aspects come together in a bundle: • Bigger screens. • Much better screens (like QLED by Samsung). • Better hertz values (doesn't irritate the eyes). • More "smart" builtin software and firmware, with tons of bugs and security holes. • Bigger resolution. I'd take all of the above points except the smart TV software. To be perfectly fair I also think 4K is th…

8K exists, and will be in use for at least some of the 2020 olympics. why will 5-10 years make any difference? Will living rooms become larger?

I mean that I am not very sure the human eye can even distinguish between 4K and 8K, provided at least 60FPS.

IMO we're hitting maximum levels beyond which there's no sense to continue -- except to sell us the latest and the shiniest.

Re: Why the Luddites Matter

#124

Post by [deleted] »

Izkata wrote: post #119
bleachedsleet wrote: post #116

The author's premise is that Luddites are a misunderstood group with a misunderstood agenda but then goes on to immediately say: "The historic Luddites were skilled craft workers laboring in England in the early 19th century, and they were amongst the first groups to see their jobs and lifestyles fall victim to mechanization; their opposition to 'obnoxious' machinery was in keeping with their view that the imposition…

Yeah, this article actually confused me a bit, too. I always thought the common understanding of Luddite was "doesn't understand / doesn't care about" technology. Did nothing to dissuade that notion, either.

[deleted]

Re: Why the Luddites Matter

#125

Post by jefurii »

The Amish are another group whose name is synonymous with rejecting all technology, but whose story is much more nuanced. They carefully consider each technology and try it out on selected individuals to see what effect it has on them, their family, and their community. They're not afraid to reject a technology or to set limits on its use; they're also not afraid to adopt a technology if it's useful to them.

Howard Rheingold's 1999 article (https://www.wired.com/1999/01/amish/) is a classic. Kevin Kelly has also written a lot about the Amish and their relation to technology.

Re: Why the Luddites Matter

#126

Post by d0lph »

pdimitar wrote: post #57
paulddraper wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I am never gonna give WiFi access to my TV. I had XBMC hooked up to my TV with samba share years before smart TVs were really popular. I really liked wifi tv then, and I really like it now. Improved my life.

That's a much more legit use case. I plan on buying the latest RPi and install KODI on it, and hook it to my TV. Complemented with my router using Pi-Hole (RPi-based DNS server that filters out ads and tracking) I am pretty certain that it's gonna be pretty seamless and much better experience than the "smart TV software".

I have the same, Raspberry Pi with kodi pulling from a samba share on an ubuntu server.

Re: Why the Luddites Matter

#127

Post by pcrock »

wilsonnb wrote: post #100
pdimitar wrote: post #51

> you do not have to let a tech company screaming “technological progress” in your face turn you into a paragon of passivity This was the article's highlight for me. As a senior programmer I found myself saying "no" to more and more tech nowadays -- smart speakers are and will always be not welcome in my house, I carefully study mobile app permissions and deny everything but the absolutely necessary minimum (on my mo…

I get where you're coming from but to say that computers and phones aren't used to improve people's lives is ridiculous. GPS in my pocket. Internet connected calorie counting app. Streaming whatever show I want on demand instead of watching the one show that's on. Paying $120 dollars a year to listen to whatever music I want to. A calendar that's on all my devices that my wife can add things on. A speaker that can st…

Would your relationship with your wife improve, or deteriorate, if you were deprived of the TV shows you watch? Maybe for you, losing TV would be a bad thing. Maybe. But for many, being entertained more easily is not necessarily an improvement to life. And that's kind of the point of the article. Technology is good... except for when it's not. We need to get better at evaluating it for what it really contributes to life.

Re: Why the Luddites Matter

#128

Post by wilsonnb »

pcrock wrote: post #127
wilsonnb wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get where you're coming from but to say that computers and phones aren't used to improve people's lives is ridiculous. GPS in my pocket. Internet connected calorie counting app. Streaming whatever show I want on demand instead of watching the one show that's on. Paying $120 dollars a year to listen to whatever music I want to. A calendar that's on all my devices that my wife can add things on. A speaker that can st…

Would your relationship with your wife improve, or deteriorate, if you were deprived of the TV shows you watch? Maybe for you, losing TV would be a bad thing. Maybe. But for many, being entertained more easily is not necessarily an improvement to life. And that's kind of the point of the article. Technology is good... except for when it's not. We need to get better at evaluating it for what it really contributes to l…

Can you explain to me how being entertained more easily not an improvement? I'm not sure I understand.

Re: Why the Luddites Matter

#129

Post by tux1968 »

wilsonnb wrote: post #128
pcrock wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would your relationship with your wife improve, or deteriorate, if you were deprived of the TV shows you watch? Maybe for you, losing TV would be a bad thing. Maybe. But for many, being entertained more easily is not necessarily an improvement to life. And that's kind of the point of the article. Technology is good... except for when it's not. We need to get better at evaluating it for what it really contributes to l…

Can you explain to me how being entertained more easily not an improvement? I'm not sure I understand.

One notion is that it reduces the time available where you can be more deeply involved together in activities that are more life affirming and relationship sustaining.

Re: Why the Luddites Matter

#130

Post by all_blue_chucks »

5DFractalTetris wrote: post #102
all_blue_chucks wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Arguing that things use resources does not support your claim that they use the same resources.

That may be true, but due to a number of scientific conclusions in the 20th century (the uncertainty principle & the incompleteness theorems), I've concluded that all knowledge is at best heuristic, and that claims to the contrary are a form of violence. I'm prepared to claim "all these use resources" but am not prepared to claim "some technologies use certain resources in a way that offer environmental benefit over…

Are you for real? That is the most /r/iamverysmart thing I've ever read.
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