Re: Science and Unemployment...

Thomas S. Zemanian (ts_zemanian@pnl.gov)
30 Jun 1995 20:08:26 GMT

In article <DAp9yH.Kp6@stdc.demon.co.uk>, clive@stdc.demon.co.uk (Clive
D.W. Feather) wrote:

> In article <3shhc8$t7i@decaxp.harvard.edu>,
> Stephen S. Lee <lee9@fas.harvard.edu> wrote:
> > Hey, this is not exactly a novel idea. Get thee hence to a history book,
> > wherein you should read about the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, and
> > a group of people known as Luddites.
>
> As someone whose family originated in Luddendon Foot, I should point out
> that the early Luddites were not anti-technology for its own sake, but
> because they were losing their jobs - that is, it was an early form of
> Trade Union militancy.
>

Hi Clive:

You seem to be implying that the Luddites got their name from your
ancestral home. One of my dictionaries (Webster's New World Dictionary of
the American Language; College Edition (1968)) gives the etymology as
"said to be after Ned Lud, feebleminded man who smashed two frames
belonging to a Leicester employer (c. 1779)"

What's the scoop? Is there a link between the place name and the man's name?

--Tom

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