X-Message-Number: 925
Date: 23 Jun 92 22:44:10 EDT
From: Charles Platt <>
Subject: Luddites

For circulation via Cryonet: 
----------------------------
 
I see that the time-travel topic has brought up the old 
debate about twentieth-century types being unable to fit into 
the highly advanced world of the future. 
 
The science-fiction reader in me is willing to accept this 
notion: that a century from now, some kind of unimaginable 
transcendence will have been achieved, so that people from 
our time will seem no better than animals. 
 
The realist in me says, this is silly. Human beings have 
remained persistently human despite various revolutions in 
technology that have already taken place. I would guess that 
someone from 2000 years ago could adapt easily enough to the 
twentieth century, assuming he/she wanted to do so and could 
learn the language. And that would be a person without any 
technological orientation at all. By contrast, techies such 
as ourselves are already *anticipating* the future; we might 
even feel more at home 150 years from now than we do in the 
present. 
 
Granted, technology is going to be able to manipulate 
molecules with unprecedented versatility and power. We may 
yet encounter a kind of singularity, or high-tech critical 
mass, revolutionizing ourselves and our world beyond 
recognition. Personally I doubt it will be as simple as this, 
but let's suppose it happens. Do you really suppose everyone 
will go along with it? 
 
Here in the twentieth century, we have the Amish (for 
instance), preferring to live without the benefits of most 
modern conveniences. We have religious groups imposing all 
kinds of restrictions that make no sense whatsoever in modern 
rational terms, but persist because people are reassured by 
traditions. We have millions of people who can't program 
their VCRs, and we have many more who don't even like using 
telephones very much. In short, the techies are vastly 
outnumbered by latter-day Luddites for whom technology is 
frightening and unpleasant. These people are not going to 
disappear; in fact they will increase in number (as a result 
of the deteriorating educational system) and they may rise up 
in revolt if technology becomes even *more* frightening and 
unpleasant for them than it is already. Thus, at the very 
least, Tim Freeman can be sure of finding a large enclave 
(maybe containing the majority of the population!) whose 
response to nanotech and/or genetic manipulation is to reject 
it completely. 
 
Remember, most people would rather die than sign up for 
cryonic suspension. Never underestimate the conservatism of 
the general public! 
 
Incidentally, I plan to use the scenario of futuristic Amish 
in a science-fiction novel one day. I trust no one will steal 
it in the meantime. 
 
--Charles Platt 

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