So, my friend, Lori Moster's (lovingly refered to as LORIMOSTER!!!) brother-in-law, Christoph, publishes a small 'zine called “28 pages lovingly bound with twine.” Basically, it is 28 pages of ramblings, oddly enough, bound with twine. He frequently mentions that he ties each knot with love, so imagine that I really can go so far as to say that those 28 pages are actually, in fact, lovingly bound with twine, just as the name suggests. I received a subscription to it for my birthday this year, and I can honestly say that I do enjoy reading it, all 28 pages of it. I won't go so far as to say that I look forward to it, since I usually forget about it during the interim periods between publications. It is fairly regular, every month, or two, and I am almost always surprised and excited when I get a largish envelope in the mail, rip it open and find some pages (28 of them to be exact) bound together with twine in what I would imagine is a very loving way.

Now, his ramblings range all over the spectrum, from talking about his son to writing about his eekend retreat where he spent the entire time not talking. I like a lot of his thoughts, as they mirror some of my own, except he actually acts more on them than I do. :) In any case, this issue started out with a rant about how he hates his computer for crashing on him. I'll agree with him that it is a pain in the ass. He goes on further to take a step back and challenge us to consider our need and dependence on technology. He proudly proclaims that he has no cell phone, no cable tv (no tv at all, for that matter) and no internet access, and he also feels that his life is “better off for it.” I hope he doesn't mind, but I'm going to quote his paragraph.

I'm not a full-fledge machine-bashing Luddite yet. But I'm getting there. New technology seems to create more problems than it solves. Everyone should question the usefulness of each machine in their life, especially the high-tech ones. Whatever decision you come to is your own, but I think that people would generally be a little happier if they weren't tied to the shackle of excess high-tech possessions. For instance, your cell phone, cable TV and internet all come with a monthly bill. We've decided not to have a cell phone, cable TV (or any TV) or internet, and we feel that our lives are better off for it. And while I've decided to continue to own a computer, I've also decided to severely limits its role in my life.

Frankly, I definitely can understand his frustration, as, having the computer be the source of my bread and butter, I've dealt with plenty of computer issues that frustrated me to no end. However, there are three things in Christoph's thinking process that bother me. Allow me to explain.

1) “Technology causing more problems than it solves.” This is a common idea that I imagine has been repeated ever since we first came up with any technology. can you imagine some complaining to the creator of the first wheel that we are now having people run over, crashing, falling off, etc. This gosh darn wheel thing is more trouble than it is worth! Admittedly, technology introduces many problems. Frankly, if my computer at home were to crash, I would be incredibly upset and frustrated. I would definitely lament the loss of all the stuff saved on it. I usually do a decent job of backing things up, though, onto CD. Most all of my digital pictures are on CD (several copies, actually) now, just ni case. Technology does cause problems, but it most assuredly solves a heck of a lot of other problems, as well. I think the statement really should read, “Technology causes new problems that I haven't figured out how to deal with.”

This goes along with some of the recent internet worms and viruses going around and causing all sorts of troubles for people. Everyone blames Microsoft, and then it comes out that they haven't updated their security settings ont heir computer in 5 years and, despite everyone and their brother telling them not to, they happily double-clicked on that attachment from someone they didn't know. Now, don't get me wrong, Microsoft definitely should pay more attention to security (which I think they are starting to do), but people need to take responsibility for their own actions!

2) While I fully agree that people would probably be a little bit happier if they weren't “tied to the shackle of high-tech possessions,” I very strongly do NOT agree with the idea that it is the high-tech possessions that make people unhappy. Rather, it is their self-imposed dependence on it. Recently, I made the decision to drop my ground line and move to a cell-phone-only existence. At first, I was a little nervous, knowing that there are many times when I just don't want to be disturbed. With a cell phone, the potential is there to always be connected and available. That was an easy fear to alleviate, though, as I found this great button on my phone labeled “End.” If I press this button and hold it down, the phone beeps and shuts off. Amazing! I don't even hear it ring, the caller just gets sent to my voicemail. WOW! What a concept. Another great aspect of it is the little display that tells me who is calling. If I'm expecting a call, and turning off the phone isn't an option, I can quickly check to see who might be calling in the event of the ring-a-ding going off. If it is the person I'm waiting for, then I answer, if not, then I have the choice of ignoring the phone call. Imagine that! Self-control! So, rather than laying blame on the technology for a portion of people's unhappiness, let us try to find the reason for people's lack of self-control when it comes to the usage of the technology. This is very similar to people sueing McDonalds because they ate there, didn't exercise and ended up fat. Or people sueing the tobacco companies because they smoked a carcinogen and, gosh, got cancer.

3) Now, my last and perhaps largest beef with the quote above: No internet makes your life better. I absolutely loathe when people say this. I can see the no cell phone, I can see the no television, but I heartily disagree with the no internet. Not having the internet these days is like being disconnected from the rest of the world. Sure, people lived just fine without it in the past, but it is an integral part of society and life now. The internet is possibly the greatest source of information that has ever existed. By disconnecting from it, not allowing yourself to use this resource, you are not “better for it,” you are lesser for it. I like to think that I'm a fairly well-rounded person, although I do tend to lean a bit heavily towards the geeky side, but I don't think I would be nearly that well-rounded if I didn't have access to the internet and the wealth of alternate ideas that are on it. For example, I was talking to a friend of mine a few months ago about The Matrix, and he mentioned that it was heavily influenced by Gnosticism. By what, I asked? Gnosticism is a religion with some pretty heavy ideas about god and its relation to the universe. When my friend mentioned this to me, I was intrigued, so, what did I do that night, I looked up Gnosticism on the internet and started reading up on it. Without the internet, I would have gone to the library. Would the library have as much information in as accessible a format? No, it wouldn't. Sure, I'd feel uber-cool at the library (I do love the library, don't get me wrong), but I wouldn't have such a wealth of information at my fingertips. So, if you want to cut yourself off from this fountain of knowledge, do so, but making a statement like “it makes your life better,” especially from someone who seems to pride himself on his intelligence and wisom, is incredibly short-sighted, childish and pretentious.

Not to mention the benefit that a child has from the internet. With proper supervision, the internet, I feel, can boost a child's intelligence and knowledge of the world around him by boundless degrees. He is shackling his child (although only two years old) to a life of handicap.