Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

The narrator moves on in the Chautauqua to discuss the romantic aversion to technology, which is the result of classic reason. He explains how technology in and of itself is not bad. Though a prisoner who has been behind brick walls his entire life might think brick is bad, or someone in plastic for his/her entire life might think plastic is bad, the technology itself is not inherently bad. When technology becomes “bad” is when individuals are not invested at all in its creation or when it is not valued as an art form on its own accord. This is the same concept as the disinterested mechanics who damaged his motorcycle. They were not invested in what they were doing, like a craftsman is with his/her own work. The narrator likens this to “digging it,” where one identifies with one’s work, is a part of it.

Due to the lack of Quality, a veneer is placed over the lack, creating a style that mimics hard work or understanding. The narrator finds fault with this lack, expressing the need for connectedness instead. Real Quality, he says, must contain both parts; it must be the source of the subject and the object, not just a part or a styled (fake) part.