
Amish Hackers: How the Amish actually use and build their own tech - whatusername
http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2009/02/amish_hackers_a.php
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teilo
Great article. "Amish as Luddites" is a notion of which I was disabused when I
was going to school in Indiana. I worked in the Electronics department at
Walmart. The Amish would come in by the van full, driven by a local farmer
(who kept a van for this purpose, and was well paid for his services).

The boys and younger men would come into electronics and buy just about
anything that took batteries: CD and cassette players, lots and lots of
country music, Gameboys (the original black and white model), etc. Our bins of
developed photos were full of packages labled "Schwartz" (in that are, the
most common Amish last name) as Walmart electronics was the cheapest place to
get film developed.

I had many friendly conversations with the older men, who loved to talk. The
women never talked to outsiders at all, and always kept to themselves.

I once watched them build a car audio store with installation bay across the
street from the college. It went up remarkably fast, and I've never seen
anything built quite that way. I could not figure out what they were doing at
first. They sunk all sorts of posts in concrete footings, before the slab was
poured. The posts were all over the place, seemingly random, and all of them
different lengths. When that was done, the cement crew came in and poured the
slab (not an Amish crew, obviously). After it was set, the Amish were back
with chain saws and hand saws. They cut off the posts at precisely measured
lengths. Floor and ceiling joists quickly followed, and that sucker was done
in short order. I don't know if this is how they build their own barns, but
I'm guessing yes.

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jacquesm
It's called 'post-and-beam' and it is a very nice and traditional way of
putting up a building.

I considered using it for an addition to our house in Canada but eventually
settled for the more common 2x6 sandwich construction.

The building was fairly large (42x27, 2 stories with loft) and I didn't feel
like taking my chances on something that I didn't have enough 'working
examples' of all around me.

~~~
bootload
_"... It's called 'post-and-beam' ... I considered using it for an addition to
our house in Canada but eventually settled for the more common 2x6 sandwich
construction. ..."_

Was that because of cost? (time X exerpertise) or for other reasons?

~~~
jacquesm
Simply because I couldn't find anybody with that kind of experience locally.
We built the whole thing ourselves, (foundation included) contracting was
definitely not in the budget.

pictures here:

<http://pics.ww.com/v/jacques/building/>

It doesn't look very large but the building next to it could stand in the
middle of the other one if there were a hole in the floor.

That was the first time I ever put up a construction of that size, my previous
experience was limited to fixing things up, never to put up the main
structure.

~~~
bootload
_"... We built the whole thing ourselves ..."_

Impressive. I'm always in awe of those who build their own houses. It's much
harder than it looks. How well insulated is it with the cold?

RSJ "I" beam ~ <http://pics.ww.com/v/jacques/building/100_0259.JPG.html>

Excellent, solar panels ~
<http://pics.ww.com/v/jacques/building/100_0384.JPG.html>

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RyanMcGreal
If you haven't yet read _Better Off_ by Eric Brende, I highly recommend it.
The author, studying at MIT but disillusioned with the relentless push of new
technology, decides to live among a community (which he delicately calls
"Minimites") that has eschewed modern conveniences.

It turns out they're not really opposed to technology _or_ innovation, but
rather focus their energies and efforts on ever-more convenient _human-powered
machines_ , coupled with an aggressively minimalist approach to their 'needs'.

In one telling passage, the author is helping the men gather food to feed
their horses over the winter, which turns out to be the primary use of the
horses themselves (rather like needing to take a distant job so you can afford
your car, which you need to get to your distant job).

When Brende points this out, one of the men laughs and decides on the spot to
get rid of his horse. The Minimites are many things, but afraid of change is
not one of them.

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ggchappell
An interesting article. But I find a couple of things about it odd.

First, he says:

> ... Amish practices are ultimately driven by religious belief: the
> technological, environmental, social, and cultural consequences are
> secondary. They often don't have logical reasons for their policies.

Of course, there is no rule that says religion cannot be logical. Regardless,
he says a little later:

> Behind all of these variations is the Amish motivation to strengthen their
> communities.

And then he spends several paragraphs giving a logical, well reasoned account
of how various technologies (cars, electricity) were rejected because of their
impact on the community.

Second, while carefully explaining one group, the old-order Amish, he very
much mischaracterizes another: the Luddites. These were not people who simply
rejected all new technology; they were protestors against the social changes
produced by the industrial revolution. And their protests sometimes took the
form of violent destruction of textile factories. It seems they didn't want to
be mere cogs in some huge corporate machine, a sentiment I think most of us
can empathize with (regardless of whether we approve of their methods).

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stcredzero
I remember a TV program that showed the woodshop of a Mennonite farmer. He had
a windmill running an air compressor, and a full set of modern air-powered
woodworking tools.

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nathanb
Very interesting...I feel like I understand the Amish culture and mindset a
lot better. I can respect their views a lot more now that I know where they're
coming from.

