Better Off
by Eric Brende · first published 2004
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E-Book Extras: ONE: An Interview and Insight into the Mind of Eric Brende; TWO: Ten Tips for a Leaner and More Leisurely Life in a World of TechnologyWhat happens when a graduate of MIT, the bastion of technological advancement, and his bride move to a community so primitive in its technology that even Amish groups consider it antiquated?Eric Brende conceives a real-life experiment: to see if, in fact, all our cell phones, wide-screen TVs, and SUVs have made life easier and better -- or whether life would be preferable without them. By turns, the query narrows down to a single question: What i
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Yep. Great experiment. My thinking was also influenced by a book I read a few years ago. Better Off by Eric Brende published without irony, if I remember correctly, by MIT Press.
on “My Paleo Media Diet” ↗This book helped change the way I think about technology: https://www.amazon.com/Better-Off-Flipping-Switch-Technology... It's about the Amish.
on “The Amish as a source of tech-savvy guidance” ↗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")…
on “Amish Hackers: How the Amish actually use and build their own tech” ↗