Goodbye High-Tech Hype! But Can a Low-Tech Life Make Us Happy Today?

Some Unexpected Words of Wisdom from a Friend

Erik P.M. Vermeulen, PhD
5 min readSep 23, 2022

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Photo courtesy of author

“So, what do you think?”

My friend, Nathan, from NYC called me last week. He is a lawyer “who never settles for less.” The money-grabbing, ambulance-chasing type who works for a big firm with a grand-sounding name and plush Manhattan offices.

He is the kind of person no one likes or wants anything to do with. Until they dig you out of a massive legal hole. Then, he must seem like a super-hero — a morally righteous character that uses extraordinary powers to fight evil.

I first met him in law school in the nineties. We had an instant connection, even though we often had different opinions about the world. And although we don’t talk regularly, we remain close.

Anyway, Nathan called me last week. He had a “problem” and wanted to get my take.

“A trusted, independent point of view,” he called it.

But like many people asking for advice, I suspect he had already made his “life-changing decision.” He just needed to hear himself say it out loud to give himself the courage to act.

The Big Reset

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