Hi - question about formulation of etiquette with respect to new technologies and practices.
This is something that has come up in discussing electric vehicles, and I'm wondering if there is a principle in anthropology or sociology which applies:
When EVs started to become available, questions and issues arose around deployment of public charging. EVs are different than gasoline cars in various ways, including that for many drivers, the vast majority of charging takes place at home, and so public refueling is not always directly comparable to gasoline and other combustion engine vehicles. If you drive a PHEV (plug-in hybrid), then a public station is more of a want than a need.... you can always get home by using gasoline. If you drive a BEV, you probably have a bigger battery, but you may want to use the station. There are a variety of different contexts. In some areas, there are plenty of stations (many of them unused). In some areas, there are few or no stations. Some stations are faster-charging than others and can only be used by certain types of vehicles.
I wrote out more detail about all of this, but then deleted it, as I wanted to get to my questions and the details of this industry may not be that interesting:
- is it a thing in anthropology or sociology (perhaps of pop culture) to study societies as they work out new etiquette and practices around new tech?
- is it a thing to note that when a new tech is introduced, there seem to be folks buying into the new tech and in a rush to get up on a horse with respect to the issues (or perceived issues) in that industry. This happens, for example, with respect to the hot-button debate on EV public charging where:
Many (often BEV drivers) will be anxious to condemn in a strong way PHEV drivers who park at and use public charging.
Many (often PHEV drivers) will be anxious to condemn BEV drivers who are upset about PHEVs using public charging.
2
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5 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.in retrospect, one other famous example (of which I'm sure there are a few) of application of psychology to the present-day auto business (note other than the wikipedia link, the other link I grabbed I just glanced at briefly, it seems representative, but I am not saying I read through it, .... I just wanted to give an idea of relevance). Also, note that at least one of the books he is said to have authored was in cultural anthropology. I know him as a name that is famous for talking about the "lizard brain" at work in buying vehicles, such as SUVs.
[one-country.com]
"...An exchange with Clotaire Rapaille, psychologist and marketing expert, about the 'reptilian brain' and how consumers make choices:
from Frontline/PBS, "The Persuaders" airdate: 11/11/04..."
kmaz
Level 7
Oct 19, 2018
0
Wouldn’t that be more of a thing for a sociologist?
Hathacat
Level 9
Oct 15, 2018
1
That would be my thoughts on this, maybe even a social psychologist.
kmaz:
Thanks, both sociologist and social psychologist make sense here to me. I'm not really familiar with the formal boundaries around these social sciences, nor where it's appropriate to claim overlap or intertwined-ness. When I talk EVs and clean energy industry analysis, sometimes I think of it is studying organizations and economics but also groups of people and introducing new technologies and practices and seeing the different human motives at work.
I've been thinking about doing an EV conversion to an antique Series II Land Rover, EV's are the future and I think we should encourage everyone to make the switch regardless of BEV or PHEV. If we must pick fights then let's first address the people with ICE vehicles who park in EV charging bays.
Surfpirate
Level 9
Oct 14, 2018
0
kmaz:
It sounds interesting to do a conversion, though more of a hobbyist activity at this point, or something maybe to save money. I mean, Jaguar is on the verge of making their EV more widely available, so if you really want one and have the large amount of money, you can just buy it.
On the issue of getting ICE'd, yes, I've run into that and it can be annoying. Whether we are talking about getting ICE'd or working out more nuanced aspects of new EV Etiquette, the social sciences point I'm getting at here is that it's not just a matter of business analysis but as well perhaps a matter of some social sciences interest, to see the different comments and thinking at play.
Seen in that way, you and I and our conversation are part of that social sciences discussion I think, with people essentially not only engaging in the new technology and practices, but finding some layered role for the topic in their lives.
@kmaz I can't imagine Tata producing anything like the old Landies, ever. There are certainly a few hobbyist conversion out there but there are also many companies doing great EV conversions on classic cars and the price is not cheap.
[dgit.com]
kmaz:
@Surfpirate
"...I can't imagine Tata producing anything like the old Landies, ever..."
I think we could say that about a lot of classic and great vehicles. In the meantime, Tata has in fact built what may go down in history as the very first real BEV competitor to the Tesla Model X from an established manufacturer.
@kmaz I've owned two Jags and one Landy so far and all I can tell you is that they make a very pretty vehicle but let's wait and see how the current owner of the brand does with it. Tata has come a long way from Tuctucs but they are shooting very high.
kmaz:
Hi @Surfpirate
It has been a decade since Tata acquired JLR. How long is it that we should wait for some idea of pros/cons under the new management? 20 years? 30? I'm pretty sure if you research it you can figure out from your point of view if you think the Tata-era vehicles are worth considering. My view: As far as I know, they are doing ok, and as far as I know, they did not do perfectly under the old US management.
Anyway, back to social sciences comments from me:
When looking at new business and technology efforts, and related online discussion and day-to-day interaction of people, I think there are "anthropologically" (or "psychologically" or "sociologically" ) predictable approaches to the discussion and interaction that may take place and that's part of what I wanted to get at here. An example that I started off with is a person buying a PHEV and then laying it on a bit thick with their level of upset at BEV drivers, or vice-versa.
I think it could be argued that both I and surfpirate have to some extent provided some additional example of some predictable discussion in steering the conversation, such as toward talk of being ICE'd, or toward hobbyist vehicle production or toward enjoyable-to-us car or industry talk, though sometimes I suppose a cigar is just a cigar, and I suppose it could be argued we just wanted to talk cars a bit.
@kmaz It is interesting that the topic of automobiles has an emotional aspect that is far greater than one would anticipate for a machine made of plastic, metal and rubber. I wonder if we will feel the same about autonomous drone flying vehicles that are shared communally in the future?
kmaz:
Yes, agree. A part of this is that people do not always make a vehicle purchasing decision based on what number-crunchers think is "rational" in terms of costs and mundane utility.
In archaeology (which is the practice of study humans through the things they leave behind) itis frequently possible to see the introduction and spread of new technologies. Frequently, a new technology gets introduced (e.g. steel axes to non-metal using societies _ Iroquois and Algonquin pre-contact societies) and the spread is easily witnessed in the archaeological record. It is often easy to see the impact that the new technology had on the society. Along with this its often possible to see societal stratification and technology access, loss of previous technology, modification of new technology, competition between new and old technologies, usage strategies around the new technologies, etc.
So the answer to your question is yes, anthropologists do study these things and the issue you present may be observed and documented by some future anthropologist. Given the non-preservable evidence involved, perhaps you could document your observations to assist future researcher.
t1nick
Level 8
Oct 14, 2018
0
If this is what you mean by public charging . then I'm reasonably certain there'll be a meter and some means of collecting payment . Electricity is not free , and I don't in any way , see where taxpayers will be paying for energy for the public in general .
Cast1es
Level 9
Oct 14, 2018
0
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