Late Adopter

I recently read yet another reference to so-called "early adopters." Those are the saints of new technology, the ones who buy iPods before there's an Apple store. They're the reason the Internet is around today. (Actually, it's because of porn, but you get the point.)

It may come as a surprise to those of you who aren't reading this because you don't use the Internet and haven't heard of blogging... but I am not an early adopter. My wife, dear SW, periodically accuses me of being a Luddite. And, while I've never smashed a power loom, I must confess I have some sympathy for the cause. I do not adopt. I lag. I even lollygag. I distrust. I may be a little lazy, too.

Part of it is that I'm sick and tired of the endless coping that goes along with the new. I have enough trouble finding time to sleep; do I really need to waste energy slogging up another learning curve? I'm old; my knees aren't up to the hike. And really, why do today what, perhaps, needn't be done at all? Emerson warned us against enterprises that required new clothes; what would he have thought of enterprises that required (for instance) new phone lines, new power adapters, new pieces of outboard gear, and frequent checks for upgrades and bug fixes?

I realize I'm holding the rest of society back in its headlong rush toward perfection, and I will acknowledge, in hindsight, that I've often been wrong in my thinking. After all, if it had been up to people like me, we'd all still be driving around in cars. If it had been up to people like me, there'd be no permanent base on the moon. If it had been up to people like me, George W. Bush would still be President. So maybe the optimists, the re-toolers, are right. They'll win in the end; they always do. Still... what can I say. I miss cars.