March 21st, 2012
No Wireless? On Purpose?
Because coffee tends to go along with drive and purpose, when coffee drinkers decide to go off the grid a bit, they do it with spectacular flair. It’s not just a question of making things simple, getting rid of a little bit of excess here and there, but is more often an all-out assault on technology in general. Luddites who are also coffee drinkers tend to know the history of the term “luddite,” and can wax poetically for quite some time.
The common notion that a luddite is one who eschews technology is more or less correct. That idea of someone who’s decided to give anything related to machines, electricity, and now especially, wireless communication, is at the heart of the lifestyle of a luddite. Most people who use the term to describe themselves, however, probably don’t live like the Amish, and do allow themselves a certain amount of creature comforts to make life bearable. Heat is useful, but it’s not exactly cheap, and it’s not very easy to harvest it on one’s own. But it is possible, and that’s something that makes life off the grid more than a little seductive.
While the common definition, or notion, of a luddite is more or less in line with the spirit of the thing, the real story is even more interesting than most would imagine. The reaction to technology is not a new one, although an information age would certainly seem like the right time. Nor is it a remnant of the early 20th century, when Ford’s assembly lines were at the heart of conflict about whether or not machines would turn people into robots, or make us unnecessary altogether. It began a century before that, in 1811, at the very beginning of the Industrial Revolution. It was such a widespread idea, that even Lord Byron wrote about it, defending the right to take the power away from the machine in order to maintain human hands in physical work. And the founder,
King Ludd, is interesting historically, because he didn’t really exist.
So the notion is based on an idea, a very ethereal idea, but one that has always carried a lot of weight. It’s one that coffee drinkers like to mull over, and, at certain points, invest in. Perhaps it begins with something small, like sitting in a café and, instead of pulling out the laptop, one might pull out a magazine and solve a crossword puzzle instead. It might seem like an innocuous way to spend a morning, but it has roots in something as revolutionary as Robin Hood.








