Slightly of-topic: compressed air is the preferred source of power for the tools of Amish people, since their religion doesn't allow them to use electricity or internal combustion engines.
Most Amish sects do not prohibit electricity. It is not uncommon for them to have electrical devices powered by solar panels. I don't think most have anything against internal combustion engines. As your own link notes, they might use such engines to power air compressors.
What concerns the Amish is being too dependent on the outside world. Tying to the regional electrical grid would make them too dependent.
They aren't isolationists, though. They will still buy from and sell to outsiders. Using things like gasoline or diesel generators to power air compressors is OK because it isn't seen as requiring becoming too closely tied. Probably because if their gasoline supplier becomes unreliable, they can buy from someone else.
In general, the Amish avoidance of technology is greatly overstated. They don't so much avoid it as take a very cautious approach, making sure they know how it will impact their society before they let it in.
They have a few people try it out, while the rest observe how it goes, and they watch how the outside world handles it. Only when they understand what changes it will bring, good and bad, do they decide if they are going to adopt it or skip it.
They are kind of like where the rest of us were 20-50 years ago (it varies depending on the particular technology) except they are avoiding the mistakes we were making back then when we were rushing to embrace the latest stuff.
In a few decades, there will probably be Amish equivalents of Facebook and Twitter but without being full of trolling and misinformation, because the Amish will wait for us to figure out how to control that before they make their versions.
Here's a good article on Amish and technology [1].
As a descendant of the first Amish to come to the US (now Mennonite), this is the most accurate take on the Amish and their relationship with technology that I've seen online.
The Amish and Mennonite split happened because one group felt the other was becoming too progressive too quickly. The Amish are following the same trajectory as the Mennonite, just much much more slowly and cautiously. There's nuance in there, but that's basically the gist of it.
Hooolyyy craaap!! That was a good read, thank you.
Quote: "Ivan is an Amish alpha-geek. He is always the first to try a new gadget or technique. He gets in his head that the new flowbitzmodulator would be really useful."
flowbitzmodulator!! That's my new word for this week...my wife's going to kill me
I've been obsessed with technology that skirts religious laws for a while now. Whole house pneumatic systems to run $800 dollar non-electric blenders. Elevators that spend the sabbath atomically opening on each floor. Automatic timers to complete forbidden circuits. I would love to spend an hour or two with a rabbinical scholar. Does walking in front of a motion senor complete a circuit? Are you allowed to ask an AI to do something on the Shabbat?
This stuff cracks me up. Do they think Hashem is up there looking down, thinking "Good one guys. You got me there. I thought I had all my bases covered. I'll save you some extra latkes when you get here."
Someone help me understand why some folks treat this stuff like a tax loophole.
AFAIK the Jewish covenant with God is much more like a legal contract than a moral / conscientious obligation. So a tax loophole may be an apt comparison.
It's more a matter of community than of trying to get one over on God. The identity is "We are the people who follow these rules," and in particular, "others are those who don't". Compare it to Western revulsion at people who eat insects or dogs, even though they're as nutritious and safe as anything we eat.
The rules come from God because Jews consider themselves a chosen people. They don't particularly want you to follow those rules or concern yourself with the mechanics of them, because they're not about you. The fact that it doesn't make sense is perfectly fine.
Interpreting those rules in a modern context is every bit as arcane and arbitrary as the rules were in the first place. The important part is that they come to a conclusion and follow them together. That cements the society as a group.
It doesn't really matter what God thinks, either. If God had a contrary opinion, He'd say so. There is, for that matter, a famous story about rabbis coming to a conclusion that God explicitly sends messages against, but is pleased that they have used their reason.
The Jews put a lot more weight on community and a lot less on trying to please their deity by following the rules. It just so happens that the rules really are both things.
One of the things you can do with samsung's connected oven is turn on Shabbat mode from your phone. Normally the oven will shut off after 12 hours of you not doing anything, but set the desired temp and turn on Shabbat mode and it will hold there indefinitely until until you turn Shabbat mode back off.
You can also do something similar with the fridge where it turns off the ice maker and the auto door light.
I share in your fascination of these kinds of workarounds.
I'd call myself more amused than obsessed, but yeah, the same stuff fascinates me. Can Alexa act as a shabbos goy? Does that assign personhood to the machine, or are you still doing work by invoking it?
I personally think compressed air tools are underrated. I worked at a shop that used a lot of compressed air powered 'things'. We had a bunch of air powered hand tools that out performed electric equivalents by a fair bit. Most of the larger machines, though mostly electrically driven, had major components that were air powered and required a compressor.
The force and energy available through natural physical processes is under rated some times...
Well...I guess all our power and energy is based on natural processes.
Hmmm...I guess...there's some natural physical processes that tend to get largely overlooked that provide more energy than one might think is I guess what I mean.
A major advantage of air tools over electrical tools is that the air flow and expansion causes cooling, which means you can run air tools harder for longer than equivalently-powered electrical tools, which can heat up dramatically when used hard.
Of course you have to mitigate moisture, but that is trivially solved with a moisture trap on the compressor's outlet or at the tool if you're using long air lines.
You can expend any part, up to 100%, of the entire charge of a compressed air tank, momentarily. You can get a lot of power (measured in Watts) from it.
An electrical battery, even if it stores the same amount of energy, is seriously more power-strapped.
Conversely, I spent some time at a physical therapy gym that used compressed air for resistance instead of metal plates. It was a lot quieter than any other gym I've ever been to, just a gentle whoosh instead of clang-clang-clang.
Since you mentioned it, are you aware if other energy sources are allowed, such as waterwheels or windmills? Otherwise, how do you compress the air in the first place? How is the air compressor filled without electricity?
I vaguely know some Mennonites. One guy has a cell phone and car transmission repair businesses, and computers, but he only uses those things for certain tasks and does not keep the technology in his home. He uses it at work. He locks up his phone and pc when not using them for work.
Not that this guy is representative or anything, just an anecdote. Neither group is homogeneous, and I don’t mean to single anyone out.
The different approaches to technology, and the varied applications of technology, in service both to secular and sacred ends is interesting to me.
The Amish I have visited were as a sibling commenter to you describes: a single diesel motor runs the compressor. Ostensibly, a person with a bike, hand crank or horse on a treadmill could do the same, albeit extremely slowly. It is considered a minor compromise that doesn't have too significant an effect to be avoided.
I believe some also had mechanical windmills, though none for electrical generation. The area wasn't suitable for waterwheels- if it was, I suspect they may have forgone the diesel engine.
This group also had single landline phone in the community, in someone's yard nearish the road. They used it for the rare cases where letters weren't practical- things like calling a doctor, etc.
Keep in mind, the limitations are based on how a thing affects your relationship with God and each other. Buttons on clothes, for example, weren't a thing; they were seen as a vanity (often too decorative). Instead, safety pins were the norm. As such, technology isn't banned for being technology, but as part of a larger category of things that draw you away from devotion- be it pride, vanity, etc.
I think it’s actually becoming quite common for these... Luddite (for lack of a better word) groups to use electronics in business settings only. They’ve mostly accepted that if you want to run a successful business with customers outside the group, you simply have to use electronics.
What concerns the Amish is being too dependent on the outside world. Tying to the regional electrical grid would make them too dependent.
They aren't isolationists, though. They will still buy from and sell to outsiders. Using things like gasoline or diesel generators to power air compressors is OK because it isn't seen as requiring becoming too closely tied. Probably because if their gasoline supplier becomes unreliable, they can buy from someone else.
In general, the Amish avoidance of technology is greatly overstated. They don't so much avoid it as take a very cautious approach, making sure they know how it will impact their society before they let it in.
They have a few people try it out, while the rest observe how it goes, and they watch how the outside world handles it. Only when they understand what changes it will bring, good and bad, do they decide if they are going to adopt it or skip it.
They are kind of like where the rest of us were 20-50 years ago (it varies depending on the particular technology) except they are avoiding the mistakes we were making back then when we were rushing to embrace the latest stuff.
In a few decades, there will probably be Amish equivalents of Facebook and Twitter but without being full of trolling and misinformation, because the Amish will wait for us to figure out how to control that before they make their versions.
Here's a good article on Amish and technology [1].
[1] https://kk.org/thetechnium/amish-hackers-a/