Wednesday, June 30, 2010

I am a Luddite.

This is the leader of the Luddites:
Who--British textile artisans
What--Social movement to protest new technologies like mechanized looms
Why--Looms that could be operated by unskilled labor resulted in the job loss of skilled textile workers.

Today, Luddite typically refers to someone opposed to industrialization, automation, computerization or new technologies in general.

In true Luddite fashion, I'm against the modern interpretation of the word.

It's true, technology led me to align with the Luddites. I hate my cell phone. I hate the awkward pauses that stilt conversation. I hate not being able to hear. I hate trying to switch between calls--any friend knows that if I try to do that, I'll invariably hang up. To be fair, I have trouble with regular phones too--transposing numbers. Dialing strangers. But these foibles are easily managed with a quick, heartfelt apology.

All that being said, I have three computers in my house--and the two laptops are mine. I have this blog. I'm on Facebook. I have three email accounts (one work, two personal). I have written web sites and email blasts and online ads to supplement my income. I have two flat-screen tvs, and one of my cars talks to me. (Not in my head--through the GPS.) I love my microwave, and my refrigerator, and my dishwasher.

But when I go on vacation, I go on vacation from my phone and my computer, and it's a relief. When I want peace, I stay away from technology. I have a library card, and I use it. My nightstand is stacked with books and magazines and the Sunday NY Times, print edition. No e-readers. I am still buying books, and I have a wall-sized book shelf in my office to contain them. And I like it.

I like looking over the spines. Seeing the odd connections that can be made from books who happen to rest next to each other. A separate bookshelf holds the entire (minus 3-4 books) collection of Nancy Drews, and their yellow spines fill me with nostalgia.

But back to the Luddites.

What I'm opposed to is more closely related to the loss of a place for skilled labor. In today's world, what I'm opposed to manifests itself as the creation of hype instead of the cultivation of talent. My heartfelt wish is that the creation of talent and the presence of talent could supplant creating the buzz and ephemeral excitement that are the illusion of talent.

That's truly Luddite speak, because those days have never existed, really. Even for those whom talent propels forward, buzz and hype finish the job.

So now, it's on to embracing the ease made possible by the technologies. That I can self-promote from my sofa, and then, in my quiet, Luddite ways, turn off my computers, pull my Uta Hagen books off my bookshelf, and dedicate myself to the craft.

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