this is about a man who went to live with the amish for a year. i've long said if someone gun-to-my head forced me to pick a religion, i'd be all about the amish. given this, ever since this book was suggested to me earlier in the year i was extremely drawn to it. part of the delay was caused because i was teaching a class on design and technology last semester and didn't want this man's experience messing with my geek-chi.

to begin with, i couldn't love the title any more.

second off, any creative effort that comes from true passion or visceral interest is almost always beautiful. this is no exception.

thirdly, i covet this man's experience. if there's a good side to all of this, brende's message isn't one of complete abstention. his sole argument is the intelligent application of technology. coincidentally, the class i taught last fall focused on just this, or i termed it the thoughtful use of technology but it's very much the same thing.

brende isn't against technology, not at all. he's actually quite a student of it (he is MIT trained after all). what brende stands against is the blind dependence and reliance and utilization of technologies without the careful, or even sloppy, consideration if it is a good fit and is going to enhance your life or actually, stealthily, reduce your quality of life. if someone were to do an audit on your lifestyle, my lifestyle, most american's lifestyle, i think we'd all be quite alarmed at what we learned.