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.