
The Amish understand a life-changing truth about technology the rest of us don’t - raleighm
https://qz.com/1275194/the-amish-understand-a-life-changing-truth-about-technology-the-rest-of-us-dont/
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xor1
>The Amish use us as an experiment. They watch what happens when we adopt new
technology, and then decide whether that’s something they want to adopt
themselves. I asked one Amish person why they didn’t use automobiles. He
simply smiled and turned to me and said, “Look what they did to your society.”
And I asked what do you mean? “Well, do you know your neighbor? Do you know
the names of your neighbors?” And, at the time, I had to admit to the fact
that I didn’t. And he pointed out that my ability to simply bypass them with
the windows closed meant I didn’t have to talk to them. And as a result, I
didn’t.

I wonder how they feel about online dating.

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vinceguidry
I'd hesitate before taking any moral lessons from the Amish in regards to
technology, other than that it's possible and worth it to choose your
relationship with it rather than let it control you. But you don't need the
Amish to work that out. I wouldn't say they're necessarily better off for what
they're doing, and to say otherwise is just idealistic.

They have the same sorts of problems we have, and don't have the ability to
tap into the global Internet for insights and solutions. Meanwhile global
society continues to evolve as ideas spread ever faster.

There's beauty in that way of life, but much sadness too.

~~~
petra
You're judging their culture through your moral values.

And "global society continues to evolve" is only true if you believe in
"progress".

~~~
vinceguidry
I was careful not to judge their way of life except to state that we shouldn't
idealize it. You're the one turning my exhortation into a moral determination.

If you want my moral determination, I would guess that the average Amish
person has far superior morals to the average American. If I had to guess how
many times the average American Christian has cracked open their Bible, well,
let's just say it's not a pretty number.

That said, I wouldn't trade my way of life for theirs, crappy unexamined
American morality and all. The Internet just brings more to the table when you
get right down to it.

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SigmundA
It always seems like somewhat of a contradiction but the Amish have a big hand
in the American RV industry. They are usually associated with a better quality
product.

Newmar with Amish owners makes some of the most technologically packed motor
homes with interiors that don't really remind me of the simple Amish life:

[https://www.newmarcorp.com/why-newmar/company-
history/missio...](https://www.newmarcorp.com/why-newmar/company-
history/mission/)

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gcgutier
This seems awfully close to the Kevin Kelly interview with Tim Ferriss,
including the order the points are raised. I'm surprised he wasn't quoted or
at least referenced.

[https://tim.blog/2014/08/29/kevin-kelly/comment-
page-2/](https://tim.blog/2014/08/29/kevin-kelly/comment-page-2/)

