Dear friends, There is a commonplace opinion that technology and the natural world, or that technological pursuits and natural pursuits, are at odds. An example: I think this is a false position. But if this kind of sentiment is so often repeated, its worth thinking about why it feels true.
Nature does not rush, yet everything gets done. Technology speeds up our activities. But we do not let a time savings create space in our days. Instead it is on to the next task, and the one after, and that is what feels unnatural.
I find this very useful. “It is always up to you to decide if you are getting more for less.”
I’m always skeptical of gadgets that “make life easier” and usually err on the side of manual labor. It’s good for the body and soul.
Maybe this goes against the “removal of drudgery” as you say but I have this idea in my head that people use a riding lawn mower instead of a push mower so they can spend more time in front of the tv. Or instant pot instead of conventional cooking methods.
too many times, we forget to ask this simple and powerful question: does it improve quality of life? from your own angle, it'd become: does it improve my quality of life?
I agree with this, I think, having read it somewhat quickly - maybe ironically. I have been thinking a lot about how to make our lives simpler, and while that's not really the point of what you've shared, it feels... related? We also don't own televisions, iPads, etc. Just our computers and a Bluetooth speaker we play music on during the day at home. But I have found myself drifting more and more to my phone lately, and heavens, it's a hard habit to break. A friend actually just suggested we light candles in the evening to ease into a screen-free time before bed (which is obviously beneficial for many reasons). Your email reminded me to go grab the candles and settle in with book for the remainder of the evening.
I enjoyed this article. It has some similarities to an article I published about why life is not easy even with so much technology. Technology is most often not designed to make our lives easy. As you point out, it may just be designed to do more with less. It could be designed just to keep up with the competition. But I think that people embrace technology when it expands or eliminates a technological boundary. Coffee may not be as good in a Keurig, but if we were limiting how much coffee would could have only because we didn't have the time to make more on our rush out the door for our morning commute to work, then a Keurig allows us to achieve more of something that we want. Sure, we may want gourmet drip but that might have to wait until the weekends. Before bread first came pre-sliced, it was traditionally something you only ate at or as part of your meal. But after it came pre-sliced, people also treated it as a snack opening up the packaging and grabbing a slice on the go. Where we are limiting ourselves only because we can't do more and then a technology becomes available to us that will allow us to do more, then we will likely embrace it. But we shouldn't assume this will make our lives easy, although it will allow us to achieve more of what we are currently wanting. If we are looking for life to be easy, harmony with nature, or for tranquility, we can't expect technology alone, if at all, to get us there. Enjoyed your article.
This is delightfully refreshing. Too often I read articles (that I agree with) about how technology has created a world filled with almost invisible barriers for ourselves and our children. This post helps to bring us back and remember the blessings AND the trials of our choices -- whether we will eat the burger, or choose to stay hungry until we get home.
The promise of technology seems half-baked sometimes. Take Buckminster Fuller’s idea of ephemeralization, for instance, technological advancements allow people to do more with fewer resources, leading to eventually doing everything with nothing. The huge thing missing is the why?? Why do we want this? Convenience? Maybe to increase our leisure time? Time is our only finite resource, but what to we do when we get more of it? Seems to me we (to generalize) fill it with more technology? We don’t have to wash dishes by hand now, or do laundry, or even drive a car . . . All that so we can waste our time scrolling? I think that’s where the idea of a farm comes in. It makes a much better why. We’re all desperate for a purpose. Trouble is that’s not something technology can ever address.
The relationship between technology and nature is not a simple binary. While technology can undoubtedly have negative impacts on the environment, it also has the potential to be a powerful tool for addressing environmental challenges and promoting sustainability. The key lies in responsible and mindful development and application of technology, with a focus on minimizing harm and maximizing benefits for both humanity and the natural world.
I’m unable to edit my comment for some reason. It appears you address “more with more later” but as a negative. But more with more can equally be simply becoming more adept at exploiting potential. More with less is as a singular ideal arbitrary restriction. Mistakes here.
I like the ideas here although I find it more difficult to replace an existing habit with something new rather than starting from scratch.
Take the Keurig example: today, I place a pod in the machine, I make sure there's enough water, and then I hit a button. 30 seconds later I have coffee.
If I wanted to replace that with a French Press, there's a 7 step process (according to ChatGPT) that I'd need to follow. Every morning. Worth it? Possibly. But overcoming the inertia of how I've been doing it is the big challenge.
It would have been way easier if the harder decision was made at the beginning so that the Keurig never became a habit in the first place. So maybe the lesson here is more about what we pass on to our children as best practices.
I like that you are pointing people to a potentially better way of being. But the difference between where someone is today and where they want to be tomorrow is the real challenge. And I'm not quite sure what the answer is there. Anyway, thanks for sharing.
The idea that technology should be doing more with less is such a useful razor. I stumbled upon a similar realization by accident but never was able to make it that concise. I live in Houston which is basically tropical, and once when looking at a car to buy, somebody tried to explain why heated seats were so nice, and I couldn’t think of something less useful for my situation. It made me realize how many car add-ons fall into that category, stuff that probably has a particularly great use case for someone else and is just one more thing that could break and need fixing for me. Then I started seeing this everywhere.
The urge to run away from tech as an insider is something I've been feeling lately.
I think it can boiled down to:
- Tech often misinterpret as software, at least in my circles. And I think a lot of software tech workers (i.e: designers, engineers) are suffering from fatigue. It's an eroded work. I also think many are losing excitement after being the "behind-the-scenes people" for some time.
- The tech culture in my opinion is another reason for wanting to get out of tech. It has become a place with a very specific mentality, same aspiration, motivation, etc.
"What is called tech — that is, what is new and digital — is not necessarily technology in any meaningful way. Often it is merely fashion. The blame cannot rest with the objects and apps, no matter how careless they are made. It is always only up to you to decide if you are getting more for less." BOOM. "Often it is merely fashion"--INDEED. Nice piece!
Nature does not rush, yet everything gets done. Technology speeds up our activities. But we do not let a time savings create space in our days. Instead it is on to the next task, and the one after, and that is what feels unnatural.
Jevons paradox, and the 'resource' is our time
Yes, exactly. Now that you mention it.
"Nature does not rush, yet everything gets done" - well said!
I liked Wendell Berry’s standards for technological innovation. Hard to follow but good to measure any new technology against:
1. The new tool should be cheaper than the one it replaces.
2. It should be at least as small in scale as the one it replaces.
3. It should do work that is clearly and demonstrably better than the one it replaces.
4. It should use less energy than the one it replaces.
5. If possible, it should use some form of solar energy, such as that of the body.
6. It should be repairable by a person of ordinary intelligence, provided that he or she has the necessary tools.
7. It should be purchasable and repairable as near to home as possible.
8. It should come from a small, privately owned shop or store that will take it back for maintenance and repair.
9. It should not replace or disrupt anything good that already exists, and this includes family and community relationships.
I find this very useful. “It is always up to you to decide if you are getting more for less.”
I’m always skeptical of gadgets that “make life easier” and usually err on the side of manual labor. It’s good for the body and soul.
Maybe this goes against the “removal of drudgery” as you say but I have this idea in my head that people use a riding lawn mower instead of a push mower so they can spend more time in front of the tv. Or instant pot instead of conventional cooking methods.
too many times, we forget to ask this simple and powerful question: does it improve quality of life? from your own angle, it'd become: does it improve my quality of life?
I agree with this, I think, having read it somewhat quickly - maybe ironically. I have been thinking a lot about how to make our lives simpler, and while that's not really the point of what you've shared, it feels... related? We also don't own televisions, iPads, etc. Just our computers and a Bluetooth speaker we play music on during the day at home. But I have found myself drifting more and more to my phone lately, and heavens, it's a hard habit to break. A friend actually just suggested we light candles in the evening to ease into a screen-free time before bed (which is obviously beneficial for many reasons). Your email reminded me to go grab the candles and settle in with book for the remainder of the evening.
I enjoyed this article. It has some similarities to an article I published about why life is not easy even with so much technology. Technology is most often not designed to make our lives easy. As you point out, it may just be designed to do more with less. It could be designed just to keep up with the competition. But I think that people embrace technology when it expands or eliminates a technological boundary. Coffee may not be as good in a Keurig, but if we were limiting how much coffee would could have only because we didn't have the time to make more on our rush out the door for our morning commute to work, then a Keurig allows us to achieve more of something that we want. Sure, we may want gourmet drip but that might have to wait until the weekends. Before bread first came pre-sliced, it was traditionally something you only ate at or as part of your meal. But after it came pre-sliced, people also treated it as a snack opening up the packaging and grabbing a slice on the go. Where we are limiting ourselves only because we can't do more and then a technology becomes available to us that will allow us to do more, then we will likely embrace it. But we shouldn't assume this will make our lives easy, although it will allow us to achieve more of what we are currently wanting. If we are looking for life to be easy, harmony with nature, or for tranquility, we can't expect technology alone, if at all, to get us there. Enjoyed your article.
This is delightfully refreshing. Too often I read articles (that I agree with) about how technology has created a world filled with almost invisible barriers for ourselves and our children. This post helps to bring us back and remember the blessings AND the trials of our choices -- whether we will eat the burger, or choose to stay hungry until we get home.
Thank you Simon.
The promise of technology seems half-baked sometimes. Take Buckminster Fuller’s idea of ephemeralization, for instance, technological advancements allow people to do more with fewer resources, leading to eventually doing everything with nothing. The huge thing missing is the why?? Why do we want this? Convenience? Maybe to increase our leisure time? Time is our only finite resource, but what to we do when we get more of it? Seems to me we (to generalize) fill it with more technology? We don’t have to wash dishes by hand now, or do laundry, or even drive a car . . . All that so we can waste our time scrolling? I think that’s where the idea of a farm comes in. It makes a much better why. We’re all desperate for a purpose. Trouble is that’s not something technology can ever address.
The relationship between technology and nature is not a simple binary. While technology can undoubtedly have negative impacts on the environment, it also has the potential to be a powerful tool for addressing environmental challenges and promoting sustainability. The key lies in responsible and mindful development and application of technology, with a focus on minimizing harm and maximizing benefits for both humanity and the natural world.
> Technology is doing more with less
Extreme oversimplification. Technology can be doing more with more too. Or less with more.
I’m unable to edit my comment for some reason. It appears you address “more with more later” but as a negative. But more with more can equally be simply becoming more adept at exploiting potential. More with less is as a singular ideal arbitrary restriction. Mistakes here.
Reminds me of Cal Newport's digital minimalism. Are these technologies enhancing or retracting from what makes a "good life" good?
I enjoy your writing and would be interested in reading about the tradeoffs of specific technologies!
Yeah I see a trend where people switch to minimalistic approaches after trying to set up a whole system.
You see this with productivity system. You have Anki, Obsidian, Notion, Readwise. Then 6 months down the line? You're using Apple Notes :)
I like the ideas here although I find it more difficult to replace an existing habit with something new rather than starting from scratch.
Take the Keurig example: today, I place a pod in the machine, I make sure there's enough water, and then I hit a button. 30 seconds later I have coffee.
If I wanted to replace that with a French Press, there's a 7 step process (according to ChatGPT) that I'd need to follow. Every morning. Worth it? Possibly. But overcoming the inertia of how I've been doing it is the big challenge.
It would have been way easier if the harder decision was made at the beginning so that the Keurig never became a habit in the first place. So maybe the lesson here is more about what we pass on to our children as best practices.
I like that you are pointing people to a potentially better way of being. But the difference between where someone is today and where they want to be tomorrow is the real challenge. And I'm not quite sure what the answer is there. Anyway, thanks for sharing.
The idea that technology should be doing more with less is such a useful razor. I stumbled upon a similar realization by accident but never was able to make it that concise. I live in Houston which is basically tropical, and once when looking at a car to buy, somebody tried to explain why heated seats were so nice, and I couldn’t think of something less useful for my situation. It made me realize how many car add-ons fall into that category, stuff that probably has a particularly great use case for someone else and is just one more thing that could break and need fixing for me. Then I started seeing this everywhere.
The urge to run away from tech as an insider is something I've been feeling lately.
I think it can boiled down to:
- Tech often misinterpret as software, at least in my circles. And I think a lot of software tech workers (i.e: designers, engineers) are suffering from fatigue. It's an eroded work. I also think many are losing excitement after being the "behind-the-scenes people" for some time.
- The tech culture in my opinion is another reason for wanting to get out of tech. It has become a place with a very specific mentality, same aspiration, motivation, etc.
"What is called tech — that is, what is new and digital — is not necessarily technology in any meaningful way. Often it is merely fashion. The blame cannot rest with the objects and apps, no matter how careless they are made. It is always only up to you to decide if you are getting more for less." BOOM. "Often it is merely fashion"--INDEED. Nice piece!