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Why I'm a Luddite, kind-of (Part 2)
Date: 2022-05-27
Tags: technology Luddite freedom liberty
In 2013 I wrote a ~~ramble~~ post called "Why I'm a Luddite, kind-of":/posts/luddite. Now, some 9 years later, I want to revisit some of my opinions then and add some more color to my basic premise. If anything, I think my opinion has gone from "sometimes technology doesn't actually make things better" to "usually technology doesn't actually make things better."
I've come to loathe "smart" interfaces.
In 2013 I was still two years away from having a child. While Anne and I weren't able to get our families to strictly adhere to the "no batteries allowed" rule, they did follow it pretty well and I'm pretty happy with the result. Our children watch a little more TV than I'd prefer. A significant portion of it is made up of history and science documentaries and they are (usually) more than willing or even beg to go outside to play, so it's a mixed bag.
One sentence, of many, I do think has aged very poorly and doesn't really reflect my current beliefs, though, is "I just wish so many people wouldn't use them as a substitute for real life interaction." Before 2020, but specially in a post-2020 World, that sentence was just me talking out of my butt. While I still think real-life interactions are important, interacting with others any way in which we're comfortable is a positive.