Re: Luddite defined

[Bill Troop bill@xxxxxxxx]

The OED def is so much friendlier, I think,
to say the least:
According to Pellew?s Life of Lord Sidmouth (1847) III. 80, Ned Lud was a
person of weak intellect who lived in a Leicestershire village about 1779,
and who in a fit of insane rage rushed into a ?stockinger?s? house, and
destroyed two frames so completely that the saying ?Lud must have been
here? came to be used throughout the hosiery districts when a
stocking-frame had undergone extraordinary damage. The story lacks
confirmation. It appears that in 1811­13 the nickname ?Captain Ludd? or
?King Lud? was commonly given to the ringleaders of the Luddites.]
A member of an organized band of English mechanics and their friends, who
(1811­16) set themselves to destroy manufacturing machinery in the midlands
and north of England.

But I am not sure that it is altogether apropos to a
discussion of XyWrite versions? Which would be
the 'machine' version and which the 'handcraft'
version? This is where I find the discussion
confusing: in using Ludditism to characterize
different shades of software technology.

Still, a 1970 quotation shows that the word is being
used in more sophisticated ways than I easily
understand: "1970 New Scientist 10 Sept. 549 They [sc. errors] can be
prevented by improved systems and organization. But first it is necessary
to overcome the professional and official luddites."

What would be the difference between a professional
and an official luddite? ? ?