Today I became simultaneously transfixed and enraged while watching a man use a leafblower to try to clean the sidewalk in front of his house.
The damp leaves clung to the ground with magnetic force, but he would not give up. He tried every angle imaginable in the hopes of dislodging a single stubborn leaf. And, when he’d dislodge the leaf, he’d simply push it across the sidewalk and into the gutter. If he was lucky, a couple leaf buddies would go along for the ride. Meanwhile, dust and debris flew hither and thither, mostly plastering the sides of parked cars.
As I watched, it occurred to me that when people go crazy and claim technology is the root of all evil, they are probably thinking of things like the leafblower. Besides being a terrible polluter and louder than a jet engine (yes, it’s true), it is completely and utterly inferior to a non-technical solution: the push broom.
I guarantee you that if I had stood next to this guy with a broom, I could have moved all the leaves in the time it took him to move just one. And, whereas he ended up merely pushing all the leaves (and related debris) into the gutter for someone else to clean (or for the wind to blow back onto his property), I’d have a tidy pile ready to be scooped and composted.
Which leads me to my conclusion: we tend to assume that the technological solution is necessarily the better solution. We think computers are better than sketchbooks, or Kindles are better than paperbacks. Maybe, but maybe not. Before we adopt a new technology, we should carefully scrutinize whether it really does add value, or whether it is simply moving a leaf from one place to another.
By the way, I did say something to this guy. I approached him and said, rather loudly, “Hey, that’s really annoying, not to mention idiotic!” He looked up at me, smiled and waved; he hadn’t heard a word I’d said.
Tags: rants, Technology
Pushbroom: requires no gas, makes no noise… helps you burn calories. In the fall we are the fattest and LOUDEST country on the planet. I can’t stand those, largely unnecessary things.
Pushbrooms rule.