Luddite?

[Henry M]

I don't picture T Pynchon as technophobe, technophile, or Luddite. He 
IS a very funny, ironic guy, though. "Oboy" indeed!

> From:          <MASCARO at humnet.ucla.edu>
> To:            pynchon-l at waste.org
> Date:          Thu, 6 Mar 1997 13:46:23 PST
> Subject:       Re: Luddite?

> There's about a thousand levels of irony in this little gem you quote, Brett.  I can't pretend
>  to fully figure out what he's getting at. But I can't believe that anyone simply *seduced* 
> by the promise of such salvation would also be devoutly hoping that the masters of the 
> technology (the brass, by which he maybe means the bosses of the  socio-political 
> framework within which those researchers would be toiling?) would be caught flat-footed 
> by it. 
> And why would a luddite look forward to such salvation? If he were vulnerable to its 
> tewchnological promise, he wouldn't be a luddite.   Maybe what will 
> happen will be so revolutionary that it will destroy itself and the whole status quo, 
> leaving way for some new, presumably more luddite-friendly, dispensation.
> BTW, all those (which means all) of us who from time to time speculate on TP's shadowy
>  presence among us might want to imagine that he really is a luddite, and might not even
>  own a computer.  That's my bet, anyway.  Is there any evidence that he doesn't just write 
> on an old Royal manual typrewriter?
> 
> john m
> 
> ********************
> Brett writes:
> 
> >
> >Well, with all the news about cloning, sheep, and I thought I heard
> >something on the radio about a rhesus monkey, I thought it was time to
> >go read "Is It OK to Be a Luddite?" again.  On the web at:
> >
> >  http://www.pomona.edu/pynchon/uncollected/luddite.html
> >
> >What do you all think about this essay?  The last paragraph, in part
> >
> > If our world survives, the next great challenge to watch out for will
> > come -- you heard it here first -- when the curves of research and
> > development in artificial intelligence, molecular biology and robotics
> > all converge.  Oboy.  It will be amazing and unpredictable, and even the
> > biggest of brass, let us devoutly hope, are going to be caught
> > flat-footed.  It is certainly something for all good Luddites to look
> > forward to if, God willing, we should live so long.
> >
> >makes me wonder if he's been sucked in by a "false promise" of salvation
> >held out by these technologies?  Does this paragraph make you think of
> >something like the "Borg", or something more mind-expanding, liberating?
> >
> >Regards,
> >Brett

AsB4
Keep cool, but care. -- TRP
Moderation in moderation. -- Husky Mariner
m1,ru12? - HDM, d1