Simon Favre wrote:
> The Luddites were a group of people who opposed the Industrial Revolution
> by throwing things into the machinery to break it. Ever heard of throwing
> a monkey wrench in the machinery? In the UK, that would be a "spanner in
> the works." The term is properly used to describe anybody who deliberately
> sabotages new technology. I think it was misused in describing anyone who
> still uses a pickup to tow a race car. If you call somebody a Luddite for
> mindlessly clinging to old technology instead of embracing the new, that
> term might apply to all of us! ;=)
>
Actually to be correct:
The followers of Ludd were fighting a part of the industrial revolution...but
not as a fear of technology but rather that they were working in the woolen
mills in England and were all losing their jobs due the introduction of steam
powered machines that were replacing them - just as with computers etc. it
ain't the technology but rather the human price paid for its use.
So therefore, Luddites get a bad rap about technology when all they really
wanted to do was feed their families.
Mike
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