Looking forward to a Luddite New Year

I've been blogging on this subject for about six months now and feel it's probably right to end 2009 with a little bit of a recap...

You see, I think that technology gets the blame for too many of life's problems nowadays. Most of the tech I have at home is there to enhance my lifestyle. I can't say I have anything too modern (the budget simply doesn't run to the latest gadgets), however the fact that I embrace some tech means that I don't conform to the traditional modern view of a Luddite. Most of the tech I have seems to work well.

The tech in modern workplaces is also quite visible, however more often than not it's there to increase production, not to enhance either the skills of the worker or of their working experience. Technology is pushed to its limits and beyond, often patched together to perform functions never previously considered, and used well beyond its useful life. I see today's society becoming increasingly uncaring, with many entrepreneurs keen to replace their workforce with technology where they can... As evidence, I see that today's society now boasts:

• ATMs where we used to have bank tellers;


• scanners at many supermarket checkouts where there used to be a member of staff;


• electronic trading, where you can order an item on the internet and have it delivered to you with no direct human interaction ever made, either by direct contact or phone;


• When you do ring, you get a host of computer automated responses and then a queue for up to 30 minutes before you get to speak to a person.
  

I grant you, there are still businesses that survive by relying on human interaction with customers, but their staff are often under increasing pressure to perform more effectively to compete. After all, internet trading is available 24/7 - however, staff can only work 40 hours or so a week. High Street retailers are therefore under pressure to open seven days a week, even for 24 hours a day, to compete. Shift working is therefore a necessity - however there's only so much consumer money available, particularly in these days. Workplace stress is said to be the fastest growing cause of staff sickness in the 21st Century. One in five people said that they found their work either very stressful or extremely stressful. (source: ACAS ) Managers are as much under pressure as their workers, and seek to survive by streamlining their businesses, reducing their workforce, automating more. We are slowly removing people from the workplace - where will it end?

I don't pretend to have the answers but feel that this is essentially the same issue that Ned Ludd and his fellow protesters were fighting for all those years ago. Surely quality of life needs to be considered? I'll leave you with another recent article which I hope will give you some food for thought in 2010...

http://comics.newsm8.com/think-about-back-to-home-business

The Luddite Fallacy

When you start delving into the history of Luddism (as I have been doing), then you come across differences of opinion in economic circles on the influence that mechanisation may have on the economy. The argument is known as the so-called "Luddite Fallacy." Economists argue that technological progress will never lead to massive, long-term unemployment.

The reasoning goes more or less like this:

1. Labour-saving technology is introduced into the workplace, and some workers lose their jobs, however production also becomes more efficient.

2. More efficiency leads to lower prices for the goods and services produced, leaving consumers with more money to spend on other things.

3. Increased spending produces increased demand across nearly all industries--and that means more jobs.

4. Displaced workers then are rehired.

Apparently, that's what happened when agriculture was mechanised: food prices fell as efficiency increased, and consumers spent their extra money elsewhere, producing jobs in the manufacturing and service sectors.

The problem is - is this scenario (for that's all it is) robust enough to apply in all situations? I'm not convinced - and there are others who share my view.

Robots Want Your Job

The more I hear about where future technology is leading us, the less I see the bright future painted to us when I was growing up; a future where technology was our friend, and was designed to ease our burdens. There would still be a place for man, in charge of the technology, while we humans lived more fulfilling lives.

How wrong we were. The main benefits are felt by the entrepreneurs. As the following article explains:

http://www.fool.co.uk/news/investing/investing-strategy/2009/10/28/robots-want-your-job.aspx

Now do you see why I'm gaining some sympathy with the Luddites?

.

Going Back To Basics

Another good blog entry, revealing the truth behind Luddism. The word is spreading...

http://www.flixya.com/post/tiddao/1752166/Back_To_Home_Business#


:)

True Luddism

Another great post, in the true spirit of Luddism.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/if-you-are-reading-this-post-you-are-not-a-luddite.ars

:)

Help Desk

I've had another series of meaningful exchanges with two different IT help desks today. A minor issue soon escalated to a total lack of service, with each help desk sure that the other was at fault. Who do I, the customer, believe? I think I'll go with the flow and just mark this one with the acronym P.I.C.N.I.C (Problem In Chair Not In Computer). So the problem isn't the desk but the chair. But whose chair?

A Kindred Spirit

As part of my emerging 'Luddite' tendencies, I have taken to doing a regular search of websites throughout the world for inspiration. I'm suppose I'm looking for a modern-day Ned Ludd! Most of the time I find folk who use the term 'Luddite' in the contemporary way - referring to a person who rejects technology in every way. That's not quite how I see the world. As you can probably tell...

However, today I stumbled across an article on a website that I can identify with - this is more like it.

http://tothecenter.com/news.php?readmore=11313

More later.

Keeping in touch

A thought struck me at the weekend. You don't have to go too far back in the past to find a time when letter writing was the standard way of communicating with a friend or loved one who was far away. Many can tell with fondness of the love letters they got from their lovers - they may have even kept them - tied with a red ribbon, kept in a box by the bed! However, what do we have now in the 21st Century? Communication could be by Skype, by text message, by email. All great ways to keep in touch, but not so easy to tie a ribbon around. Are we losing something in our embrace of technology? What will be our keepsakes in the future? Think about it.

What's your problem?

Another sensational week in the office, which on reflection can be summed up by looking at the extent of technological problems we seem to face. And as it's my job to 'sort them out', I get involved with them all! However, looking at each in the cold light of day, are these bugs really all they appear to be? Is the tech in fact more trouble than it's worth (as some say)? Let's look at these issues from a Luddite point of view - are these all problems caused by the presence of technology? And could we work better without it?

* The instant messaging system suddenly gave up working sometime last week. It's not essential to work, but it's nice to have (I can tell when people are logged in to their PCs, great to know when you're trying to talk to people some hundred miles away). I reported the fault, however after a week or so the IT team are still investigating the problem. They say it might be a hardware fault, it might be software. It could I suppose be someone unplugging something they shouldn't - but I guess they'd never tell me if this was the reason. :)

* There was the problems we had with the letters produced by the company's computer system. One particular type of letter stopped working at all, immediately following an upgrade to the system. Is this truly the computer's fault, or the fault of the programmer who worked on the upgrade? In fact, this turned out to be the programmer - although the client was said to be at fault for not testing the release properly! (****!)

* And then there was the fact that all the phones suddenly stopped ringing one afternoon. Quiet, I grant you. Too quiet. The problem was traced to the 0845 provider, whose network went down unexpectedly. I'm told this was definitely a hardware failure. We got the phones back pretty quickly, thankfully.

Out of three examples, we have one failure of the technology, one failure of the programmer, and one where the court is still out. Do you know what I think? I think that on average it'll work out that more than half the time the problem is due to people - although you can bet that in most cases the computers will be blamed.

Could we work better without tech? If we did, we'd need far more people to do the work - with all the consequent cost repercussions, i.e., training, health & safety, holiday and sickness cover. Remember, it was to reduce such reliance on personnel (and improve productivity) that employers chose to automate, leading to the Luddite riots - see top of this blog.

"People are a problem." - Douglas Adams

So, where's my jetpack?

When I was young, the future was always depicted in optimistic tones. I suppose we always pictured life like The Jetsons. There were hi-tech gadgets, labour-saving devices, and robots. And they all had jetpacks to get around.

Fast forward a bit to the 21st century... and yes, here are the gadgets. Ipods, personal organisers, mobile phones. Your labour-saving devices are here too. Microwaves, dishwashers. The robots are all in the factories, poor Rosie hasn't quite made it home yet. And the jetpacks? Not a trace. And I think Health and Safety will put paid to all that.

I miss my jetpack.

Holidays in the 21st Century

I've just returned from a short break away with the family. As usual we spent it under canvas. I love sitting out somewhere peaceful and green! However, such is the pace of life in the 21st Century that folk on some campsites seem to complain about 'not having a mobile phone signal' or 'not being able to get wifi for my laptop'.

Am I strange - because I consider it a distinct advantage not having access whilst I'm on my hols. It's supposed to be a break! Yes, I do take the mobile away with me, but if folk can't reach me they can always leave a message! We do usually go off site at least once a day (the shops are only a short distance away) and can get a chance to check messages then. And emails can of course wait!

I think that people lack the discipline; they can't seem to leave the technology behind. Hmmm ... need to ponder that a bit longer. Seems to strike a chord with me, too...

Luddite blogging

Ever since that fateful day a couple of months ago (a particularly grotty day in the office, lots of computer problems) I've identified in myself, for want of a better word, 'Luddite' tendencies which have led to the creation of this blog. The mere idea of a Luddite blog (in the modern day definition of the term) is of course strange in itself, but this becomes all the more curious when you consider this is written by a person who regularly emails, texts, and uses Facebook and Twitter. Part of this very entry was written on my mobile phone on the 1630 train home and posted to the 'net before I pulled into the station. So I am clearly not opposed to technology.

So, what's my problem, then? Well, it's not the tech I have an issue with, it's how it is used... If used properly the tools of the 21st Century can be beneficial, freeing man from his problems, enabling him to do much more than he ever could before. He can communicate with others, feel part of a community, live a life worth living. Used in the wrong way technology can enslave man, preventing freedom, fuelling greed and negative feelings.

Surely you can't be serious, I hear you ask? Oh yes. I've seen things this very month that have reinforced my views.

In the last month I've worked alongside folk with a variety of physical disabilities, using modern tech in the best possible way, to live real and satisfying lives. It was great - and I want to see more of this, to be part of this. While I was away from home, I kept in daily touch with my loved ones on my mobile, and Facebook.

But on the other hand there are always instances in the modern world where technology is used not to benefit man but to benefit production - to speed up work, so one man can do the job of four. And so three men lose their jobs! That's not improving life, that's just economics!

The sort of Luddism I embrace is one centred on social justice, not opposition to technological advancement. And isn't that really what Luddism is all about... isn't it?

Simplify!

Hardware: where the people in your company's software section will tell you the problem is.
Software: where the people in your company's hardware section will tell you the problem is.
(Dave Barry, Claw Your Way to the Top)

It's all too true nowadays, with complex computer systems, that the 'experts' on the Help Desk (sic) of your local IT Department often don't have a clue as to why your computer system won't work, or is doing what is does. And that's understandable, because modern-day computer systems are all too complicated. It could be a software problem or a hardware problem. Frequently it's a user problem (because you pressed the wrong keys, dummy! Or fiddled with the settings!). The modern-day man in the street is ignorant of these complexities, just wanting the system to work for him. However, the more functionality we are offered as a consumer, the more complicated our systems become - and the more complicated our lives become.

Simpler is better.

Out go the lights!

On Monday 20th July 2009, some people felt that we'd gone back to the dark ages. Suddenly the electricity failed and the lights went out! Nearly 100,000 people were affected across a large chunk of south-east London and north-west Kent. EDF engineers worked throughout the night to repair cables and deploy mobile generators. They finally got all service users back on power by today (Thursday 23rd July) The reason for the loss of supply was due to a fire on a cable bridge at the Riverside Industrial Estate in Dartford. The latest likely cause was either vandals or thieves.

Businesses and homes were affected. Many were sent home from work, shops unable to trade. Traffic lights stopped working, while toll booths at the Dartford crossing were out of action until operators could find back-up power. Charges were temporarily suspended - due to the backup of traffic.

What about our home? Well, my mum had taught me well, and I've been teaching my family the same. There's always a torch kept in a central spot in the house, a wind-up one just for emergencies. Out came the candles and matches, kept nearby. Out came the camping gas stove, so we could at least brew up. Out came the battery powered radio to keep us in touch. The children moaned a bit about having no TV or computers, but went off to read their books, while my wife and I sorted out drinks and lighting for the evening. The mobile phones were all fully charged, so they kept going until the lights came back on again.

We survived - because life is more than just modern technology! More later...

Progress?

When I was growing up in the Sixties, the thought of having computers and modern technology were always couched in terms of 'labour-saving devices', and the thought of an idyllic world where machines did all the menial labour, giving people time to enjoy life.

When I first started out in an office in the late Seventies, the telex machine was just being phased out, having been first introduced just after the Second World War. Telegraphy providers developed systems that used telephone-like rotary dialing to connect teletype machines. Provided each recipient had a machine, simple text messages could be sent within minutes. Most correspondence was in the form of traditional post. And if something was urgent, and you received a telex, you knew you had to turn it around within a week!

The Seventies saw the evolution of telefacsimile machines, popular in Japan as it was faster to handwrite characters than type them. Consisting of an image scanner, a modem, and a printer, the machine took off during the Eighties, being abbreviated to 'telefax' and eventually to simply 'fax'. Any office could have one, and they could be easily connected to a phone line. And if something was urgent, you knew you had to turn it around that day!

The Nineties saw the replacement of standalone fax machines by fax servers and scanners, and with the evolution of the internet and adoption of electronic mail it was increasingly easy to attach documents to send to each other from each desktop. This saw a financial advantage of reducing costs by eliminating unnecessary printouts and reducing the number of inbound analogue telephone lines needed by an office. Traditional post dwindled to a trickle, and e-mails ruled the earth. And if something was urgent, you knew you had to turn it around that morning!

The 21st Century is here, and we find we can communicate with each other by a variety of different electronic sources. We now communicate by text messaging, instant messaging, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, website links, intranet and extranet sites. Most of us have mobile phones with text messaging and e-mails can now reach you anywhere in the world if you have the latest Blackberry. And people will e-mail, fax you, text you, even phone you up asking for an urgent response. In today's world of fast cars, fast women and fast food, business has to be fast - urgent means right NOW!

Is that what they call progress?

Frustration!

I hate computers today. I'm on my twelfth 'unhandled error' and neither User Support nor the software company can tell me why.

This morning we had a glitch with the emailing system which didn't work for reasons unknown and then suddenly started working again 'for no reason'.

Arghh!

More computer wisdom...

"All programmers are optimists. Perhaps this modern sorcery especially attracts those who believe in happy endings and fairy godmothers. Perhaps the hundreds of nitty frustrations drive away all but those who habitually focus on the end goal. Perhaps it is merely that computers are young, programmers are younger, and the young are always optimists. But however the selection process works, the result is indisputable: 'This time it will surely run,' or 'I just found the last bug'. " - quote from Frederick Brooks, Jr.

Wrestling with technology

Some personal insights today on one man's struggle with technology. Today I have encountered a computer system that wouldn't let me get access into the program that I wanted to use (it just decided not to), a CD player that blatantly refused to play music until it was coaxed into life by my wife, and problems with access due to an incorrect PIN being inputted. All this, and it's not even twelve midday.

I still have to print 70 sheets of paper for handouts for church tomorrow morning, and to finalise the overheads to enable the words to come up on the screen. Let's hope the afternoon's wrestling match goes well!

Seconds out, round two...

Who Was Ned Ludd?

Ned Ludd is the person from whom Luddites took their name. He lived in the Eighteenth Century and is famous for breaking up some machinery in a fit of rage. (I'm having some sympathy with the poor fellow now; especially after wrestling with some twenty-first century machinery fairly recently!) Actually, because of the unreliability of records at that time, there is little actual proof of Ludd's existence, although by reputation he is believed that he came from the village of Anstey, just outside Leicester. The incident in question supposedly took place in 1779, where Ludd broke two large stocking frames in the village.

Ludd's wider reputation stems from the early Nineteenth Century, where his actions became the inspiration for 'Captain Ludd' (also known as 'King Ludd' or 'General Ludd') who became the Luddites' imagined leader and founder in the 1810s. His signature appears on a 'workers' manifesto' of the time. A reasonable step - in a situation where wrecking machines could lead to heavy penalties or even execution, the use of a pseudonym would be understandable. And so our hero's lasting reputation is born...

Luddism for Beginners

The Luddite Movement was formed by a group of British textile craftsmen from the early nineteenth century who were protesting against changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution. The use of machinery meant that many skilled workmen were forced out of work. New, wide-framed automated looms were designed to be operated by cheap, unskilled labour. Luddite protests usually involved the destruction of the mechanised looms that were being forced upon them. The working conditions in the new textile factories were said to be 'degrading' and wages were low.

The movement began in Nottingham in 1811, with destruction of mills and pieces of factory machinery by angry handloom weavers, and quickly spread across the country. Luddites met at night in local pubs or on the moors outside the industrial towns, often enjoyed great local support. Disturbances in Nottinghamshire in November 1811, were followed by incidents in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1812 and in Lancashire from March 1813. Cotton power looms and wool shearing machines were also targeted. Many mills throughout England were destroyed, until the British government took steps to suppress the movement, sending in the Army to keep order. There were many battles, most notably at Burton's Mill in Middleton, and at Westhoughton Mill, both in Lancashire. The Luddites claimed to be led by one "King Ludd" (more on him later).

The actual sabotage of the mill machinery ("Machine breaking") was made a capital crime by the Frame Breaking Act, and 17 men were executed after a trial in York, 1813. Many others were transported as prisoners to Australia. Lord Byron was one of the few prominent defenders of the Luddites, and famously spoke out against the Act.

The modern use of the term 'Luddism' and 'Luddite' are often used derisively to describe anyone opposed to progress and technological change. 'Neo-Luddism' and 'Neo-Luddite' are the modern equivalents, which I suppose could be synonymous to the title of this blog.

However, once thing I have learnt from this small piece of research - it would appear that the original Luddites had a good reason for doing what they did...

Are You A Luddite?

Having created this blog in a moment of frenzy after battling with nonsensical data coming from a computer system - I had to ask myself whether I did indeed hate technology - or just that particular bit of it that I was grappling with at the time....

The trouble is - I've been brought up with a love of technology. It's been engrained in me as part of my culture, from the devices used in Star Trek and Thunderbirds when I was growing up in the Sixties, to those essential pieces of machinery that we carry around with us today - the mobile phone, the personal organiser, the laptop.

No, I guess that I'm not a luddite really. Not in the modern use of the word. If I did, I'd have to do away with my various email accounts and Facebook, my blogs and favourite websites. Things that keep me in contact with the people and things I really care about. What I really hate is technology that doesn't actually do what it sets out to do, and is in fact more trouble than it's worth to have around.

Furthermore, I just get a kick about the idea of a 'Luddite' blog. More later.