Journal 4

We have learned a lot about the Minimite subculture of people and the way they lead their lives. The culture is based off minimizing the amount of technology used and finding alternatives to everything involving technology. Brende tries to convey the message that life without most technology is more fulfilling and synchronized. From this book we learn how they got around the use of things like refrigerators, running water, telephones and many other everyday things for all of us. It seemed very interesting that they went to some depths as they did. For example during the child birth they chose not to have any medical care before or during the birth, and they didn’t even have a telephone to use if they needed to get emergency care. From reading this book, it has showed us the experiences that Brende went through and that it is possible to get away from a lot of technology that literally seems to run us rather than the other way around.
We felt his methods for discovering his information were valid and the best way of developing an opinion of a culture and researching them as well. He put himself right into the culture and relied on the others to show him their methods and techniques for the culture. The best way to learn about a certain group of people is to get to know them and put yourself in their situation. Brende definitely does this by living in the community and really getting to know everyone else in the community. There is nothing that seems to be unethical in his way of researching the culture, it isn’t like he is offending the people he is researching, and it is very useful information that he is retrieving. This type of research is much more meaningful than someone who would just research by books rather than experience like Brende. His method of research is strictly living in the culture, he doesn’t do any research except for taking notes on the culture, and doesn’t seem to offend anyone.
Toward the beginning of the epilogue, Brende states that “Technology undoubtedly has, and will always have, some role in making life easier or better, so one shouldn’t exclude it… Technology serves us, not we technology.” Brende then goes on to say, “…it is better to find a non-technological solution than a technological one, or failing that, a less technological solution than a more technological one.” There are three reasons for this. First, “it demands care and maintenance.” Second, to “avoiding usurpation,” and third, “recalling the need or end in view.” He states how Ivan Illich once pointed out “…when hidden costs, labors, and time are added in, leave us moving no faster, and possibly less fast, than we were one hundred years ago in horse-drawn vehicles.”
Brende also says “…technology still has an important place. In our experience, it has come in handy in three main areas.” The first being bodily labor. Brende mentions that it doesn’t make sense to save labor when labor provides the exercise that we need and the time spent with family and neighbors. The second is transportation, and the third is communication. When Brende is talking about communication, he mentions that there really isn’t a need for a phone in a small town. He would rather send the message face-to-face. He also mentions that occasionally, “TV viewing can also become the basis of a mild social experience.”
In the last paragraph of the book Brende says, “There really is no end to the possible uses of technology, nor are there limits to finding a way around it; but in all cases it must serve our needs, not the reverse, and we must determine these needs before considering the needs for technology.”
The final conclusion Brende draws which is the last sentence of the book, “By switching off the electric light, I think we see a bit better,” is analogous to the point that the less we use technology, the better off we are mentally, and physically.

Going into and getting involved with a culture in the way Brende did is the best way to discover the amount of information Brende has. Interviewing a few people who are involved with the culture and observing them in their culture rather than getting involved is a possible way of getting information, but the amount of information gathered this way is limited. Reading books or articles about more specific topics and combining them together to get an idea on what the life of a certain culture is like. For example, instead of Brende living with and getting involved with the culture, he could have read up on what it is like to live without certain luxuries such as a refrigerator. He could then read up on how to grow and make his own food for a year. He would then combine all of his findings to get an idea of how the Amish or Mennonites live. This method wouldn’t be nearly as accurate as Brende’s method. Brende’s method is really the best method in finding the information he wanted. Brende did a great job of developing research and the fact that he actually lived as a part of the community made the book a lot more interesting and fulfilling to read. Rather than just reading about people who were already part of the culture.