A Discussion on the Use of Computers

这篇essay是集中在一场激烈的讨论或辩论对电脑的使用。作者Wendell Berry发表他的文章题为“为什么我不会买一台电脑”。在这篇文章,一方面,他表示他个人原因拒绝这一提议买一台电脑来帮助他在他的写作生涯;另一方面,他宣布他对技术创新的理解。本文简要总结这篇文章作者读过主题温德尔·贝瑞的想法关于计算机和技术创新。

The article we have been assigned to read is centered on a fierce discussion or a debate on the use of computers. In the beginning of this website, the writer Wendell Berry published his article titled “Why Am I not Going to Buy a Computer”. In this essay, on one hand, he has stated his personal reasons for his rejection of the proposal to buy a computer to assist him in his writing career; on the other hand, he has declared his understandings about technological innovations.

Generally speaking, Wendell Berry’s refusal to buy a computer is based on the following four reasons. Firstly, computer will make him “write conscientiously against the rape of nature”. Secondly, computer cannot bring him nearer to the things that are important to him. Thirdly, a computer will affect his already existed harmonious relationship with his wife since computer will replace the work of his wife. The fourth and the most important reason is that a computer cannot help him write better or more easily than a pencil. By taking computers as an example, Wendell Berry has further put forward his nine standards for technical innovation. According to him, technical innovations should be allowed on the following conditions: the new tool is smaller in scale and lower in price; the new tool can function better with less need of energy, especially solar energy; the new product is repairable by any person with ordinary intelligence and necessary repairing tools; the new tool should be purchasable and repairable as near to home as possible; the new tool should come from a small and privately owned shop or store for the connivance of maintenance and repair; last but not least, the new tool should not replace or disrupt anything good that already exists which includes family and community relationships.

After the publication of this article in the New England Review and Bread Loaf Quarterly, Wendell Berry has received many letters rejecting and criticizing his ideas. Since Harper's editors published these different voices, Wendell Berry has further debated with the opponents on the issues of computer and technical innovations. To make a classification, they have mainly focused on the ideas about the role of Wendell Berry’s wife, the necessity of computer and the attitude towards different opinions.

After I have finished the reading of this article, I have promoted my former understanding of the concept “technical innovation”. Though I can accept Wendell Berry’s personal choice to refuse to buy a computer, I cannot force myself to reach an agreement with him. As far as I am concerned, I am firmly convinced that computer and technical innovation is necessary in our daily life and we should tolerate the possible disadvantages resulted by technical innovations. My objection to Wendell Berry’s ideas is based on three aspects.

For one thing, every coin has two sides, which means that every new tool will have its advantages and disadvantages, so what matters here is to judge whether the advantages have surpassed the disadvantages. For example, though Wendell Berry mentioned that computers cannot help him write in a better way, it cannot be denied that the use of computers is vital for the publication house to publish and print his works in a more convenient way. For writers, the creation of works is important, but the recognition of readers is a little bit more important. In this sense, Wendell Berry can refuse to buy a computer personally; however, he cannot draw a hasty conclusion that the technical innovation of computers is not necessary. For another thing, Wendell Berry believed that the use of computer does nothing good to promote his social and community relationships, which is just an assumption since he will not know the contributions of computer to his social relationships if he has never owned a computer. For example, he can use his computer to watch a movie together with his wife and keep in touch with his friends to have better communications than plain talk on telephones. Last but not least, Wendell Berry believed that new tool should be better than the older products in all the aspect of shape, size, price, function, and so on, which is not reasonable according to me. Since every technical innovation must be the results of thousand times of trials and errors, which means that every tool should experience the process of becoming perfect and we should have patience to tolerate disadvantages before we embrace the better and better new tools. After all, Rome is not built in a day. So we can not reject technical innovations just because those new tools cannot follow all of our standards.

Considering all the analysis I enumerated above, this article has given a brief summary of the article I have read themed on Wendell Berry’s ideas about computer and technical innovations. Though Wendell Berry’s opinions seem to be quite convincing, I have made it clear that to some extent I cannot agree with him and then I have narrated my examples and evidence to show my objection to Wendell Berry’s ideas in the former part.

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