Weird tech levels

January 14th, 2010
tech
Last night Julia and I watched Mongolian Ping Pong, a very slow moving but visually stunning movie set in rural mongolia. It was not at all the point of the movie, but the degree to which there were weird combinations of technology really interested me. Take transportation. The three main characters are boys about 8 years old. Two of them ride horses, the third rides a small motor scooter. Not clear why. Then there's a dance troupe that dances both to chinese violin and western piano accordion and to recorded music. There's some use of electricity (attempts at getting a television signal, electric razor, flashlight) but they are clearly off the grid. Most of their tech, though, is centuries old. It's weird how ingrained my sense is that technology has a specific order, a sense that is very strongly jarred by nomadic herder children on motor scooters.

Comment via: facebook

Recent posts on blogs I like:

The Weekly Anthropocene Interviews Me

I have been interviewed by The Weekly Anthropocene. It’s sort of a grab bag of all the topics we talk about on this blog—some effective altruism, some general life advice. I really enjoyed getting to talk to Sam Matey, who’s a very smart guy. Check it out!

via Thing of Things January 6, 2025

Dance Calling By The Numbers, 2024

This post contains javascript content and must be viewed on site.

via Harris Lapiroff January 6, 2025

Handling emotions better over time

Developing skills and mellowing with age The post Handling emotions better over time appeared first on Otherwise.

via Otherwise January 2, 2025

more     (via openring)