Of Luddites and technology
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My 21 year old son has taken to calling me a Luddite….lol. I have a love / hate relationship with technology, I love the idea of people all over the world being able to as share on boards such as this.. But then again I have this longing for simpler unplugged things… Some days I dream of finding a piece of unclaimed land in the foothills of the Rockies, and settle in to the little cabin that of course I made myself and turn the clocks back to the pioneer days… As long as I could have bug screens on the windows…. Lol
14 December 2013 at 2:43 am #23837I feel the same way. Ironically, its technology that has provided me access to the information that is educating me so that I could live without technology.
The big problem is that now that I’ve eaten from the tree of knowledge…I suppose indoor plumbing could be an option..lol.. Greg it was actually your post on the sandpaper jig that spurred me to write this in part. You obviously have a great handle on technical sketches, and logging them is a great way to keep track, I just have not put time into learning that aspect and doubt I will, even as I type on this iPad (and I have no idea about its inner workings) I feel what you allude to – the sort how “fast is fast enough” argument.
Many here I would assume have some sort of mixed feeling as ken points out, we all look for the ‘unplugged’ option sometimes, which for me sort of grounds me in a way. Alright please forgive the philosophizing……
Must plug in iPad lest I be out of touch….lol14 December 2013 at 3:40 am #23841Brian…I utilize technology to meet my needs, when I have to. I would much rather be hands on and in person with what I do. I work as a mechanical designer and use a CAD program and printer to generate working drawings. I like the job but hate the process. Nothing will ever replace sitting down at a drafting board with a clean sheet of paper and pencil. Its the same reason I use hand tools and not power tools. There is an artistry to drafting with pencil and paper as well as chisel on wood that is lost when technology replaces the core methods.
So I use technology to enhance my hands on life, not replace it.
Wow…I too will now climb down of this box labeled SOAP. 😉As with so many things I’d say it’s a question of balance, rather than choosing one extreme or the other. Technology allows most of us to lead pretty comfortable lives compared to our great-grandparents. But you can also have ‘too much of a good thing’ – I don’t think we should mindlessly strive to automate everything, not without carefully weighing the true costs and benefits. The tide is slowly turning on this. It surely needs to. I also think most people need some physical activity, be it sport, art or craft, to find balance and well-being in their lives.
So while I find Sketchup useful, I’m also trying to learn to draw, because I think I’ll get more satisfaction from hand-drawn plans. Sites like this are hugely educational, but I still have an ever-growing stack of woodworking books (yep, a bookcase is on my to-do list) and I’ve signed up for the hands-on course. And while I still own a circular saw and router, my workshop has been free from the squeal of power tools this past year. I haven’t missed them one bit.
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