In reading the piece by noted American author Wendell Berry, "Why I am Not Going to Buy a Computer" I was particularly struck by the author's criteria for evaluating the utility of a new piece of technology in his work. (Incidentally the irony of reading this piece in a digital format on a computer is too delicious to ignore.) Notwithstanding that his article was written in 1987, prior to advent of ubiquitous internet access, Berry makes a fascinating and not un-useful argument. Here are his criteria for adopting new technology:
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.
When I applied Berry's criteria to both the iPad and the Kindle both devices lost...badly. Actually when examined in the context of Berry's criteria the utter failure of either device to satisfy a single one is pretty comical. Take number 9 for instance. Cory Doctorow blogs about that one extensively in the similarly titled (coincidence?) "Why I won't buy an iPad (and think you shouldn't, either)" when he talks about how the iPad has corrupted the very essence of comic book reading - sharing. Says Doctorow:
I was a comic-book kid, and I'm a comic-book grownup, and the thing that made comics for me was sharing them. If there was ever a medium that relied on kids swapping their purchases around to build an audience, it was comics. And the used market for comics! It was -- and is -- huge, and vital. I can't even count how many times I've gone spelunking in the used comic-bins at a great and musty store to find back issues that I'd missed, or sample new titles on the cheap.
So what does Marvel do to "enhance" its comics? They take away the right to give, sell or loan your comics. What an improvement. Way to take the joyous, marvellous (sic) sharing and bonding experience of comic reading and turn it into a passive, lonely undertaking that isolates, rather than unites.Just try "trading" an iPad app. And while the Kindle does make some allowance for sharing between devices hosted on the same account it is under Amazon's strict control and can only take place within pre-defined parameters. Hmm...
Interestingly a few years ago when the Kindle was first introduced I wanted one just as badly as I wanted the iPad when my mom mentioned it to me. However I never bought one because I couldn't justify the expense for a device that would allow me to read many of the very books that I already possessed, or could just as easily and cheaply acquire without tethering myself to one comparatively expensive and restrictive delivery platform. A platform that would be pretty quickly eclipsed and obsolesced by a new platform at any moment. Enter the iPad.
Having only been pretty close to an iPad on a few occasions I can't say that I'm well versed in all that it can do. However, I do know my content consumption habits. And frankly I'm pretty good at consuming exactly the content I want, when I want it, right now - sans iPad. Just don't tell my mom!
Either device would make for a terrific gift, but necessity, maybe not so much. Also, I can't help but wonder what comes next? Perhaps the innovation announced here:
Apple Fans Chopping Off Hands In Anticipation Of New iHand
Yikes! If I were presented this as a gift option I'd actually mean it when I said "You don't have to get me a gift, mom."
ihand - i love it! i say get an iphone if you don't have one if you don't already have one. though the screen is much smaller, you still have the same access to apple apps. now on to the meat of our modern consumer technological dilemma. we are indeed driven by our consumption habits, and the machine knows exactly how to create new cravings. although i thought berry did a very good job of outlining all the reasons why we don't need computers (or specifically why he's better off without one) i finished the article with one last thought. how can we go backwards now when we're so immersed (perhaps addicted to) in technology? regarding economics, it's much cheaper to create and distribute a yellow pages app than to print millions of copies of the paper version. though this is still being done. i say save a few trees and buy an iphone.
ReplyDeleteWe are a society of consumption. We have no problem buying new clothes and keeping up with trends, We have no problem buying new cars, but we question buying new electronics? We buy them because we think they are cool, they are more advanced, and more fun than the thing that came out last week. I know it sounds pretty shallow, but that is how our society works. Without consumers desiring a product, there would be less businesses, and less jobs. Our society would crumble without it. I think we should all go buy the new ihand. ;)
ReplyDeleteTameka, thanks for a well-writen post. I appreciate your application of the texts to your own situation of wanting an iPad or Kindle. My wife and I enjoy our Kindle, but your post prompts me to think of it as related to a computer or new technology rather than only a convenient format for buying and reading books.
ReplyDeleteBerry's nine criteria (i.e., "It should not replace or disrupt anything good that already exists, and this includes family and community relationships.") jumped out at me as well. We need to consider not only the technology itself, but also or perhaps more so, the effects of the use of the technology. McLuhan would agree. Berry would say "my wife," while you might say, "my mom." Happy birthday.
LOL! I think the singularity folks will hold out for the wet-ware model of the "Smart Hand".
ReplyDeleteI don't have a laptop but if I did, I wouldn't need a tablet. I'm totally into the idea of owning a tablet instead of a laptop because I'm just more comfortable doing my real computing and game playing on my desktop. A tablet is like the ultimate mobile device... so that your phone can go back to being a phone instead of doing stuff it's too small to do very well. I'm totally psyched about the future of tablets... and cybernetic hands :p
I found Berry's criteria for a new device very compelling. I'm under a tight budget right now, and shiny new things are out of reach for me. "WANT!" is no longer a reason to buy something (one of the reaons I got an iPhone).
ReplyDelete