Technology

This morning has been one for pondering machinery. The delivery men have finished thudding downstairs with a new washing machine, and it is humming through a cycle on empty to clean away the manufacturing residue. Meanwhile, I have been attempting to rid my mobile phone of the notion that it mustn't send my number out when I call people.

That task failed, incidentally. The network said I should take it to a shop, the shop said it needed resetting to factory defaults, and I've waited until now to do that because it's a tough job reinstalling the various useful functions. Even so, everything is back up and running, a bit more snappily for being rid of the junk that accumulates within multi-purpose electronic devices - but still no caller ID.

Still, at least I have a mobile phone, and wouldn't be without it.

Oddly, the mobile was always much more of a worry to brethren than my computer(s). I puzzled about that at the time, because the phone is a convenience, whereas the computer is the key to a lot of things, many of which are far removed from what the brethren are happy with. It proves once again that the real reason for many brethren attitudes to specific things is not the stated reason.

When such phones first became a practical proposition for people other than stockbrokers, they were placed without question on the "banned" list, on the simple grounds that they were radio-based. At the time, any such devices were banned, and I recall a teenager being shut up for weeks because he owned a radio-controlled car. Needless to say, he has had an apology more recently. Cordless landline phones, when they appeared, were equally evil. Some were even worried about cordless kettles.

Things have shifted, both within and without. The brethren now have no difficulty with radio waves, and it is as though they never did. The only worry is what is done with them. So entertainment via radio remains a "pipeline of filth", as is television whether it arrives through the ether or a cable in the road. Most brethren seem to have cordless phones. The new computers are often connected to their broadband routers by wi-fi, as few premises have network cabling. There is no more close questioning whether the remote lock for a new car operates by infrared instead of radio. Meanwhile, mobile phones are no longer simply phones, but versatile freedom-inducers.

And there, I think, is the key.

Brethren now have phones in their cars. However, they do not have truly mobile phones. Nor do these phones do anything except make calls. A prime condition of possessing (not owning) one is that one does not let anyone else know the number beyond a trusted one or two. So, in other words, the freedom element has been almost entirely removed. Initially, most were even to be locked to only a few outgoing numbers, too, but that seems to have been quietly dropped. What is wrong with mobiles is not how they operate, but the independence that comes with them. In a closed society, that cannot be allowed, and the rules come very close to admitting that that is the real reason.

The change in permissions for technology over the last year or two has been a classic piece of brethren revisionism, and I have found it fascinating (as well as irritating) to watch. As recently as the last couple of years, it was publicly stated that brethren would never, ever, use faxes. Now, as is customary when these changes happen, that was never the case. Some of the other differences must have been happening in the background for some time, as it is years since my computer was discovered and I was told that as it wasn't evil in itself, nothing would be done - well, it was more complicated and guarded than that, but that was the essence.

The current position is that when technology was stated to be out of bounds, back in 1982, it was not the items themselves that were outlawed, but the pursuit of them: "the latest and the best". Consequently, sufficient time has now passed to see how the world makes use of these devices, and where the pitfalls lie, and the brethren can cautiously introduce the useful features while being protected from the snares. And everyone can congratulate each other for being so wise as to leave it until now. And those who persecuted anybody for making use of such items before was always way out of line.

I think the ground has been well prepared now, and it will be quite possible to introduce more technology without further philosophical upheaval.

And I'm still wondering what to do about my phone.