The Amish and technology

The family finds itself this morning in beautiful Bucks County, PA - heart of Amish country. We found our way here via GPS and learned about the Plain and Fancy Farm via their web site - a sharp contrast to the frozen-in-time technology used by the Amish.

Or so I thought till I read this resource

"With their plain style of dress, straw hats, suspenders, and buggies, it is not difficult to see why so many of us perceive the Amish as having a hatred of technology. In reality, the Amish do not despise technology and even have incorporated many technologies into their culture. Other technologies, however, have been rejected completely or used within certain limitations as a result of deep religious beliefs and the rules that guide and maintain their distinct culture. "

The article then goes on to talk about the Amish selectively use modern farming equipment, phones, modern medical techniques - but within their defined limits.

"Unlike modern America, where people are now expected to conform to the technology that is placed before them, the Amish have devised a way of selecting which technologies are "good" and which ones are better off left alone. The Amish view technology as something that comes second to religion and cultural identity. If the introduction of a new technology weakens either of these two key components, they reject it. "

In our technology dominated lives (and celebrated on this blog) it is nice to periodically get a much more balanced point of view...

Picture credit adamscountytravel

Comments

[Ted Simpson]

Great thought-provoking post. Thank you. We head up that way frequently -- beautiful places. This reminded me of a bit I saw this weekend on Venture on Bloomberg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MdFSbFlksI) with the head of Polyface Farms (http://www.polyfacefarms.com/). He has a similarly discriminating, critical approach to using technology in his business and life. Good pause point, particularly as many of us put technology first every day (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/10/technology/10morning.html).