Geekfoolery

The Washington Post just published this article that says that adoption of compact flourescent light bulbs–the small bulbs with a spiral flourescent tube that use a fraction of the power of the Edison classic incandescent bulb–is going slower that it should. Not because they don’t work, not because these bulbs don’t save money or put out decent light. The Washington Post calls it “the wife factor.” She just doesn’t like them. The light isn’t “the same.”

Much like the beleaguered husband in the article, I find this very annoying. Here’s a guy, trying to save a little money for the house, do his bit for the environment (fun fact: If every US household replaced just one 60 watt incandescent bulb with a CFL, the energy saved would power all the homes in Delaware and Rhode Island. Source: somewhere on the Internet, but it’s true). But for some “reason”–maybe a crinkled nose, a non-plussed look–and without logic, without reason, that house is going to be stuck in the Edision era.

The truth is that these bulbs have come a long way. There used to be a legitimate reason to not use the bulbs–slow starts, flickers, humming, weird color light. But not any more. New CFLs are just fine by any reasonable person’s measure. Except for some “special” people.

I am going to go out on a limb and say the Washington Post is misleading in calling this the “wife” factor–it can happen to anyone, and not just with light bulbs. There are any number of things that some people seem to have to make a point in insisting that they can tell the difference, and that what is good enough for the masses is not good enough for them. Audiophiles who insist that they’ll never give up their vinyl, that CDs and digital downloads don’t have the same “warmth.” Bottled water–people who have to have the expensive brand with the mountain spring on the label, or the hokey pseudoscience about how their water’s molecules line up just so for maximum health benefit. People who claim that one cup of coffee at 2 in the afternoon will get the “wired” all night, or who assert that food with MSG will give them a raging migraine.

I call it the Princess and the Pea syndrome. Of course, only someone as refined and delicate as a princess would be able to feel a single pea through 23 mattresses. We’ve created our own castles in 21st century America, and we imagine that we’re all as refined as the princess who woke up bruised and sleepless. That CD of the André Previn conducting the Royal Philharmonic, playing through $3000 speakers and tube amplifier? It’s too …sterile. Better go drop another two bills on gold tipped monster cables to connect the components. The digital signal needs that. And if you’re not feeling a major buzz after a cup of espresso, well, I wouldn’t want to say anything, but maybe your brain, such as it is, just doesn’t register the finer things.

These people need to be slapped. Put the CFLs in the house. Save the money. Save the planet.

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