Jeff and Jonathan open this next episode in their miniseries on technology by talking about an article by Alan Jacobs that recently appeared in The New Atlantis. The subtitle of this article is: "Neil Postman was right. So what?" Is there a way beyond critique, without losing the true and accurate observations of Postman and others? Jonathan mentions the dark place the technology question has led him to, citing Nietzsche's adage: "the measure of a person is how much truth they can handle." They discuss — and don’t always agree on! — how the valid instrumentalities of the past have given way to a world of "standing reserve." Is it possible to introduce new technologies? What counts as "meaningful"? What is meaning even?They talk about the value of having a friend who can play the theremin, the ongoing prescience of Fern Gully, the value of having a friend who knows how to make a fire (thank you to Jeff’s neighbour!), Owen Barfield’s idea of the evolution of consciousness, Bruderhof communes, the aversion of much of academic culture to conviviality and family, the story of people trying to push so-called “technological advances” on cultures without accounting for that culture’s embeddedness within its existing context.Jeff also gets a scatological Bible story way wrong (i.e., Ezekiel doesn't eat it; he cooks over it — but it does not belong to a dog [Ezekiel 4:12-17]).Want to add your two cents? Email us as [email protected]

Show NotesAlan Jacobs, "From Tech Critique to Ways of Living," The New Atlantis: https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/from-tech-critique-to-ways-of-livingGeorge Stuart, The Wheelwright's Shop, https://archive.org/details/wheelwrights-shop/mode/2upOwen Barfield, Saving the Appearances: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saving_the_AppearancesAndrew Skabelund, "The Gods of Academia: Child Sacrifice in the Ivory Tower," Plough Quarterly: https://www.plough.com/en/topics/life/work/the-gods-of-academiaYuk Hui, Hong Kong-Berlin philosopher: https://twitter.com/digital_objectsMusicTheme Music: "What u Thinkin? (Instrumental)" by Wataboi on PixabayIntermission Music: "Lazy Morning" by Tim Moor on Pixabay