Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology

Anyone else read this book?

The summary:

"What is the least we need to achieve the most? With this question in mind, MIT graduate Eric Brende flipped the switch on technology. He and his wife, Mary, ditched their car, electric stove, refrigerator, running water, and everything else motorized or "hooked to the grid," and spent eighteen months living in a remote community so primitive in its technology that even the Amish consider it antiquated.
Better Off is the story of their real-life experiment to see whether our cell phones, wide-screen TVs, and SUVs have made life easier -- or whether life would be preferable without them. This smart, funny, and enlightening book mingles scientific analysis with the human story to demonstrate how a world free of technological excess can shrink stress -- and waistlines -- and expand happiness, health, and leisure."

http://www.amazon.com/Better-Off-Fli.../dp/0060570059

Did he swear off antibiotics and other such technological evils as well?

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Originally Posted by UltraliteAngler

Anyone else read this book?

The summary:

"What is the least we need to achieve the most? With this question in mind, MIT graduate Eric Brende flipped the switch on technology. He and his wife, Mary, ditched their car, electric stove, refrigerator, running water, and everything else motorized or "hooked to the grid," and spent eighteen months living in a remote community so primitive in its technology that even the Amish consider it antiquated.
Better Off is the story of their real-life experiment to see whether our cell phones, wide-screen TVs, and SUVs have made life easier -- or whether life would be preferable without them. This smart, funny, and enlightening book mingles scientific analysis with the human story to demonstrate how a world free of technological excess can shrink stress -- and waistlines -- and expand happiness, health, and leisure."

http://www.amazon.com/Better-Off-Fli.../dp/0060570059

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Eric lives a few blocks from me.

He still is low technology years after writing this book. I see him regularly at the library using the computers.

He and his wife rehabbed an old victorian house. They have chickens in the back yard. She was a soap maker for a while, dont know if she is still dong that.

He rides a recombinant bike around the city. For some years he had a pedicab service, taking people around downtown in his bike-buggy powered by him.

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Originally Posted by bae

Did he swear off antibiotics and other such technological evils as well?

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Not that I remember, but I think that when his wife was preggers and giving birth he just used some old country sawbones.

I read this book about two years ago, but they Williamsmith mentioning the Amish and a few other things coming up in my daily life made me think of this book.

I thought it might be of interest to others on here, or perhaps just an interesting point of conversation.

The book isn't so much about swearing off all technological advances but rather how to use the littlest one can while getting the most out of it. It is about being very selective.

There are some religious undertones and overtones to the book. But... despite of those it was really smart and an interesting critique of modern life.

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Originally Posted by iris lilies

Eric lives a few blocks from me.

He still is without technology years after writing this book. I see him regularly at the library using the computers.

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You're schmoozing me.

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Originally Posted by UltraliteAngler

You're schmoozing me.

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You dont know that weve talked about this book several times over the past dozen years.

its good to have a new audience for my brag "hey, I know Eric!"

I actually searched for the book title on here because I thought that you all must have read it.

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Originally Posted by UltraliteAngler

I actually searched for the book title on here because I thought that you all must have read it.

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Maybe all of the discussion was on the old website.

I think its a good,book and will be an enduring one in its little niche of "technology and humans"

I can certainly agree with the proposition that you don't need to swallow every technological tidbit they put in front of you.

But how do you make the calculation of what to adopt and what to pass on? Is it a purely a time/money trade-off? Can I reduce these types of choices to a simple return on investment to maximize "life energy"? Some sort of ecological ethic that makes certain assumptions about technology versus nature? The importance of not supplanting human effort with machines? Some may see some kind of spiritual benefit in heating their house with wood they chopped themselves, but I don't.

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Originally Posted by LDAHL

I can certainly agree with the proposition that you don't need to swallow every technological tidbit they put in front of you.

But how do you make the calculation of what to adopt and what to pass on? Is it a purely a time/money trade-off? Can I reduce these types of choices to a simple return on investment to maximize "life energy"? Some sort of ecological ethic that makes certain assumptions about technology versus nature? The importance of not supplanting human effort with machines? Some may see some kind of spiritual benefit in heating their house with wood they chopped themselves, but I don't.

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All good questions! To one degree or another the author examines most of these.

Though I'd like to hear some opinions on here as well as more questions related to those you've asked.

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Originally Posted by UltraliteAngler

All good questions! To one degree or another the author examines most of these.

Though I'd like to hear some opinions on here as well as more questions related to those you've asked.

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I try to keep it simple.

If it will make me or mine safer or healthier, I'll buy it.

If it will save me time or money, I'll consider it (although I will probably wait for the early adopters to push it down the pricing curve first).

If it's primary purpose is to enhance my status, I won't buy it. I can rely on my sparkling wit and breathtaking physical beauty for that.

If it causes an addition to the sum total of things I need to carry on my person, I won't buy it.

Being able to brag about not using a technology is insufficient reason to not use it. I have no romantic illusions about the virtue of our hardy forebears.

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Originally Posted by UltraliteAngler

All good questions! To one degree or another the author examines most of these.

Though I'd like to hear some opinions on here as well as more questions related to those you've asked.

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I would like t thnk that Eric learned in the Minimite community to carefully consider that pros and cons of each tech advance.

The Amish communities here are each differ in what they eschew. The community elders decide which items will be adopted depending on that community's needs and situation.

I think I'd like to read that book, because I gravitate towards books like that, and to that point I can recommend:

12 x 12 by William Powers (I loved that book)
Saved: How I Quit Worrying about Money and Became the Richest Guy in the World by Ben Hewitt
Unplugged, Hillary Bergeron
Plain Living, A Quaker Path to Simplicity by Catherine Whitmire

I don't think the purpose of these books is to get everyone to chuck their phones and TVs and refrigerators. I think it's to maybe consider that we may have lost something in the migration away from who we are as part of the natural world. We are in a place now where we can choose the level of technology that will make us the healthiest and happiest, but how can we choose if we've lost the experience of living without these things?

Reading these books enables you to live vicarious through the eyes and experiences of others or it may inspire you to follow them.

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Originally Posted by catherine

I think I'd like to read that book, because I gravitate towards books like that, and to that point I can recommend:

12 x 12 by William Power (I loved that book)
Saved: How I Quit Worrying about Money and Became the Richest Guy in the World by Ben Hewitt
Unplugged, Hillary Bergeron
Plain Living, A Quaker Path to Simplicity by Catherine Whitmire

I don't think the purpose of these books is to get everyone to chuck their phones and TVs and refrigerators. I think it's to maybe consider that we may have lost something in the migration away from who we are as part of the natural world. We are in a place now where we can choose the level of technology that will make us the healthiest and happiest, but how can we choose if we've lost the experience of living without these things?

Reading these books enables you to live vicarious through the eyes and experiences of others or it may inspire you to follow them.

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Thanks for the suggestions.

I read 12 X 12 by William Powers, it was okay overall. There were some good parts and some really bad parts. But his more recent book, New Slow City, was just... not good.

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Originally Posted by UltraliteAngler

Thanks for the suggestions.

I read 12 X 12 by William Powers, it was okay overall. There were some good parts and some really bad parts. But his more recent book, New Slow City, was just... not good.

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Interesting. What didn't you like about 12 x 12?

Have you ever read Ben Hewitt's books? I've read a couple of them, and I enjoy his writing style.

The other two books are good, but I wouldn't say great. If you have a yearning for a simple living, off-the-grid book, they do the job.

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Originally Posted by catherine

Interesting. What didn't you like about 12 x 12?

Have you ever read Ben Hewitt's books? I've read a couple of them, and I enjoy his writing style.

The other two books are good, but I wouldn't say great. If you have a yearning for a simple living, off-the-grid book, they do the job.

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Well, I think I would have mixed feelings about 12 X 12 if I were to read it again.

But I liked Dr. Benton. I thought she was an interesting character, despite being imperfect. Though aren't we all?

For some reason I picked up New Slow City and thought it was going to be good. But it was... just not. And it came off as a bit smug, largely detached from reality, and -- dare I say it -- self-indulgent.

I have not read Ben Hewitt's books. I will google them now...

Is Saved by Ben super religious?

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Originally Posted by UltraliteAngler

Is Saved by Ben super religious?

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Haha! Do you think I'd recommend a religious book to you? No, it is only religious if you consider living carefree in nature a religion.

ETA the description on Google:

When Ben Hewitt met Erik Gillard, he was amazed. Here was a real-life rebel living happily and comfortably in small-town Vermont on less than $10,000 per year. Gillard's no bum. He has a job, a girlfriend, good friends, and strong ties to the community. But how he lives his life--and why--launches Hewitt on a quest to understand the true role of money and mindless consumerism in our lives. By meeting and befriending people like Erik Gillard, Hewitt realized that their happiness was real. What was he--and the rest of a deeply unhappy population--missing?

Saved is the humorous, surprising, and ultimately life-changing result of Hewitt's quest, a narrative that challenges everything we know about the meaning of money. Hewitt uses his sharp eye for story, exhaustive reporting, and his own experience living below his means to bring what he learned into an even larger context. How does money really work? How can a bankrupt society move forward? The answers are not what you think, and Hewitt has written an important book for our times.

You Catholics are sneaky! haha

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Originally Posted by UltraliteAngler

You Catholics are sneaky! haha

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Well, I'm no longer Catholic, but it's true you can't really scrub the Catholic out of the girl very easily if she was taught by nuns for 12 years the way I was. They weren't sneaky. They were pretty bold, actually.

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Originally Posted by catherine

Well, I'm no longer Catholic, but it's true you can't really scrub the Catholic out of the girl very easily if she was taught by nuns for 12 years the way I was. They weren't sneaky. They were pretty bold, actually.

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The nuns and the priests I dealt with were strict and unpleasant, for the most part. But my questions annoyed them -- and probably to this day!

I remember taking classes every Sunday to learn about religion. They were called CCD. Did you have to take that?

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Originally Posted by UltraliteAngler

The nuns and the priests I dealt with were strict and unpleasant, for the most part. But my questions annoyed them -- and probably to this day!

I remember taking classes every Sunday to learn about religion. They were called CCD. Did you have to take that?

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Nope, because I went to a Catholic school and got religion from 8-3 every day.

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Originally Posted by catherine

Nope, because I went to a Catholic school and got religion from 8-3 every day.

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I am sorry to hear that.

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Originally Posted by UltraliteAngler

I am sorry to hear that.

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I'm not. I got a great education.

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Originally Posted by catherine

I'm not. I got a great education.

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I was just playing. ;)

Then you did better than me at my public school.

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Originally Posted by UltraliteAngler

I was just playing. ;)

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I know. You're like my son. It took me years to figure out when he was for real or not because he's always putting me on. I'm starting to get it with you, though. We gullible people are pretty slow..

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Originally Posted by UltraliteAngler

The nuns and the priests I dealt with were strict and unpleasant, for the most part. But my questions annoyed them -- and probably to this day!

I remember taking classes every Sunday to learn about religion. They were called CCD. Did you have to take that?

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Catholic Compulsive Disorder?

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Originally Posted by jp1

Catholic Compulsive Disorder?

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One of the many reasons I enjoy being a Catholic is that so many people attach so much importance to the Church as a symbol of what they are not. How often do we hear someone eager to establish their bona fides to opine on all matters Catholic by telling you about how they’re no longer in the Church? From Henry VIII to the Obama Justice Department, statists quite correctly see the necessity of rolling over organizations like the Little Sisters of the Poor for their non-conformity to the government approved monoculture.

Look at Bernie’s recent pilgrimage to Rome during a critical primary to give the Vatican his views on social justice and maybe try gaining himself a little gravitas. Would he do the same for the Lutheran Missouri Synod? I wonder what it is about the Church that captures the imagination so powerfully among believers, unbelievers and bigots alike?

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Originally Posted by LDAHL

One of the many reasons I enjoy being a Catholic is that so many people attach so much importance to the Church as a symbol of what they are not. How often do we hear someone eager to establish their bona fides to opine on all matters Catholic by telling you about how they’re no longer in the Church? From Henry VIII to the Obama Justice Department, statists quite correctly see the necessity of rolling over organizations like the Little Sisters of the Poor for their non-conformity to the government approved monoculture.

Look at Bernie’s recent pilgrimage to Rome during a critical primary to give the Vatican his views on social justice and maybe try gaining himself a little gravitas. Would he do the same for the Lutheran Missouri Synod? I wonder what it is about the Church that captures the imagination so powerfully among believers, unbelievers and bigots alike?

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The Church is a global powerful force, and people are attracted and repelled by power. The Holy See has used that power for both great good as well as evil through the millennia. And many of us are vulnerable to the Church on a deeper level than other powerful institutions, because you're talking about faith, identity, morality, community, politics.. all things we live by, and then throw in mysticism and hope for the hereafter.

Yes, I am one of many, many lapsed Catholics, and the reason started when I gave in to DH because his Scottish parents would not have even entered a Catholic church for our wedding. Because I've always clung loosely to dogma, despite love of the Church--I wanted for years to be a nun--I converted to Presbyterianism and raised my kids in that church.

I have had many strong yearnings to go back, but returning to the fold is harder then getting into college. And I truly don't put much weight into the false fences that divide us into little categories of belief and ritual, so I'm happy going to Mass and skipping communion for the time being. But I have to say I am Catholic in my heart. Every day I read works by a Catholic writer, whether it's deMello, Rohr, Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Bernadette Peters. I gain direction, strength and wisdom from all of them.

I just don't like to pigeonhole myself, but OTOH, I think if you inclined that way, being part of a community of faith is important. Maybe someday I'll tackle the re-up and become Catholic on paper again.



ETA another point to LDAHLs question: In our neighborhood we have several mainline Protestant churches and a Catholic church. The Protestant mainline churches are lucky if they get 30 people on a Sunday, and most of them are over 50.

The Catholic church pulls in hundreds of people for each of 5 Sunday Masses. The church is at the end of our street and if we make the mistake of trying to leave the neighborhood when church is getting out, we're stuck.

And the huge difference in attendance has nothing to do with the proportion of Catholics in the community overall. It's just that the Catholics go to church and the Protestants don't.

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Look at Bernie’s recent pilgrimage to Rome during a critical primary to give the Vatican his views on social justice and maybe try gaining himself a little gravitas. Would he do the same for the Lutheran Missouri Synod? I wonder what it is about the Church that captures the imagination so powerfully among believers, unbelievers and bigots alike?

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I think people have issues with their parents and were raised Catholic and that's what it is (or went to Catholic schools and have issues with that). If you weren't raised Catholic then it's not your concern so much and other people's issues with their parents are only so interesting to you. Unless fundamentalists start making government policy and going after sex toys and birth control etc. then that's EVERYONE'S worst nightmare.

The Catholic church is an ancient, dusty, mysterious institution rooted in the Middle Ages. Its wealth and history (of good works and horrific abuses) is legendary.

My grandmother was raised in a Catholic orphanage; she sent her children to Catholic schools until my aunt led a rebellion. Not one of them stayed in the Church. My mother wouldn't own a pair of black shoes because she had memories of looking down at nuns' feet while they lectured her. I was only baptized because of the hectoring of a potential godmother (so I wouldn't end up in Purgatory or worse), and have never attended--save for the occasional wedding or funeral.

I imagine several factors come into play for adherents: the community culture--some areas are more churchy than others, family tradition, affinity for the pomp and grandeur and history of the institution...I will say that I admire Catholic churches for establishing religious theater in a way other sects can only dream of.

I'd like to say here that I am grateful to the Catholic church of Spain for the Inquisition. It made things so hot (pun intended) for my SO's relatives that they fled to Mexico. Without their emigration, I likely never would have met him.

I thought about replying but this thread is no longer about that book, but religion. Maybe this thread could be merged with the distracted humanity thread.;)

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Originally Posted by UltraliteAngler

Anyone else read this book?

spent eighteen months living in a remote community so primitive in its technology that even the Amish consider it antiquated.

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IL do you know, did they go live at Dancing Rabbit up outside of Kirksville?

Thanks for the book recommendation. I just put it on hold at the library.

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Originally Posted by Float On

IL do you know, did they go live at Dancing Rabbit up outside of Kirksville?

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I dont know, and that is a good guess! I wouldnt have thought of them beng in a modern settlement.

I like heating our house with wood we cut ourselves. I also like it when the outside temperature drops to 17 overnight and the backup heat comes on at 2 a.m. when the fire dies down and I am snug in my bed.

I am resurrecting this thread because I happened to run across it, and it’s funny because it’s exactly 10 years since Utralight started the thread about Eric‘s book.


Last week I saw Eric in the St. Louis branch library he uses, using a computer. He’s been doing that for decades. I don’t think they have a computer at home still apparently