TMO Editor Taken To Task For Loose Use Of "Luddite"

Our friend David Schultz of Applelust has elected to take our own Editor-in-Chief to task for calling those afraid of the change that Mac OS X represents Luddites. In a column called "OS X Is Coming: Watch Out, You May Be A Reactionary Luddite," Bryan claimed that the bulk of those complaining about OS X were simply trying to stave off change in order to preserve their own little status quo. In a word, they are Luddites.

"Pshaw!" says Mr. Schultz. Luddites were simply worried about the loss of humanity they faced in the wave of all that loom-oriented technology, and as such were not worried about change per se. According to Mr. SchHalts:

Because of its respect of the past Legalism is sometimes viewed as being anti-progressive, i.e., being against all progress. For their respect of the past seemed to indicate that if "progress" was nothing more than moving away from the past then progress is not, they thought, always good. But they did respect progress in politics, for example, and by refocusing on the past they assumed that a return to the past was itself progress. Luddites. are not against progress, but against certain kinds of progress, namely, progress which makes us less than human. This was to be found in technological progress.

Whatever. :-)

What is important here is the discussion, and Mr. Schultzis opinions are always a very good read, even when they are wrong. This piece is backed with historical information and lots of other analysis. Go check it out!