To Be More Tech-Savvy, Borrow These Strategies From The Amish
19th May 2021
‘The Amish communities of Pennsylvania, despite the retro image of horse-drawn buggies and straw hats, have long been engaged in a productive debate about the consequences of technology,’ noted Wired magazine in 1999. In 2013, an NPR reporter observed that the ‘Amish community [is] not anti-technology, just more thoughtful’. Kevin Kelly, the co-founder of Wired, spent time geeking out with ‘Amish hackers’ and peeking into workshops whose modern machines are powered by compressed air for his book What Technology Wants (2010). He concluded that: ‘In any discussion about the merits of avoiding the addictive grip of technology, the Amish stand out as offering an honourable alternative.’
The foundation of this ‘honourable alternative’ is to not adopt every single new technology, or use cars, phones and social media as soon as they become the norm. Instead, the Amish make slow and deliberate decisions as a collective. Rather than rushing optimistically or blindly into the future, they move forward cautiously, open but sceptical.
Sorry about the ‘we have to tell a story before getting to the point’ article — that’s the way ‘journalists’ are learning to write these days. I blame the Narrative Media.
May 20th, 2021 at 02:29
Take a trip through Amish country and you might be surprised how many solar panels you see. They’re not so much anti-technology as they are against having it for status.