Date: Sat, 14 Nov 92 18:26 PST
From: Michael Gersten <michael@stb.info.com>
Newsgroups: comp.society.privacy
Subject: Re: Technical addiction
Organization: Computer Privacy Digest
X-Submissions-To: comp-privacy@pica.army.mil
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X-Computer-Privacy-Digest: Volume 1, Issue 101, Message 2 of 11

Is this a strawman, or what? This is an extreme view, with many logical  
fallocies.

Lets look at the "danger signs" presented, and see just how much sense they  
make. I claim that they are as relavent as the "Your co-worker may be an  
extraterestrial" warnings we've all come to love

Now honestly look at your human relationships with the planet, your 
environment your family and your inner self:
 do you know what phase the Moon is in right now?

No, I don't. Nor do I see what this has to do with anything; the moon
is out there, affecting the tides, and where it is in relation to the
sun has little or no effect on us.

 do you know which way the seasonal clouds are moving and their 
shapes?

Which direction? Sure. In over the ocean. Shape? Get real -- all shapes.

 can you comfortably walk alone in the woods at night without a flashlight?

There are no woods out here. I can walk comfortably alone in the jungle  
(asphalt variety) without any problems. If I lived near a woods, I could. Can  
you walk out in a Nothern Canada snow storm at night? How about an  
Equatorial Rain Forest night? These are about as relavent as asking me if I  
can walk in the woods -- if I lived near the woods, I could. I don't.


 do you know the type of earth around your house?

Sure -- Sand and Asphalt. Again, same thing. I learn what is around me. Move  
me elsewhere, and I'll learn that.

 do you tell your children stories, or do you let them watch TV so they leave 
you alone?

I have no children, but I do tell stories (RPG's)

 are you aware of environmental stress through your personal 

sensitivity to the behavior of local animals and plants?
Now, Hold On One Moment. Here you claim that the behavior of local  
animals and plants is indicative of environmental stress. Prove it.

 Do you choose to spend time on your computer or watching TV or 
talking on the telephone or tinkering with your car or with other 
technology rather than being with your mate or children?

I have no mate, or children. (I know, get a life. Where are they sold?)

In another section, a quick test is given to determine if you are a
techie: Turn off your electricity for a week. Alas, this test also
falls flat on its face. Why?

Dependence vs. Addiciton: I am dependent on technical things, and
electricity. I use a Refrigerator rather than go shopping every day for
perishables. If I were to turn off my electricity, it would be a major
inconvinience, as it would cost me about an extra hour a day in
shopping, plus I would be throwing out stuff, like milk, that I could
not drink in one day.  Plus I would be paying much more for the stuff I
did use because of the waste. On the other hand, I have gone a month
without TV, computers, etc., living out of a backpack in Austrailia.
Great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

Try turning off your water for a week, and tell me if you are addicted
to water.

Next, he says that use of the electric light is a sign that someone is
out of touch. I'm sorry, but without a lightbulb I only have about 10
hours a day of effective sunlight. I'm active for 24 - 8 = 16 hours.
That means that for 6 hours a day I'm up, wanting to do things, and
have no environment conductive to my doing anything. Well, I suppose I
could start a fire to get some light, except that that would burn down
the building that I live in. So that also falls flat. (Although I could
use candles, if I could find someone who sold non-drip candles that
were safe in a highly papered environment, and even then the lack of
sufficient light would lead to much more eyestrain, which has its own
problems.)

Finally, he claims that we must stay away from all technology for long
periods of time. What is technology?

Is modern farming techniques that let us feed about 3.5 -4.5 billion people a  
day technology?

Is paper technology?

Is any form of communication other than shouting technology?

Is any form of building, other than a lean-to, technology?

Is anything that can support more than about 100 people in ALL of Los  
Angeles technology? (That, if I remember correctly, is the anthropologist  
estimate of the number of indians who lived in the area before "modern man"  
came by).

Where do you draw the line? If I understand you correctly, you are  
advocating a technology level that cannot support more than a few hundred  
thousand people, which means that about 1 in a million will survive, and the  
other (million - 1) people will die. Thats extreme. But yes, it will solve all the  
overpopulation produced problems.
--
		Michael Gersten		michael@stb.info.com
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