The Philosophy of What We Do

[daveward]

When I built my airplane, I very deliberately planned various installations with service in mind. Since I was going to be the mechanic down the road, it paid to minimize eventual inconvenience from the start.

These days it's obvious that manufacturers don't even want home mechanics working on their cars.

Ken

Don't get me started!!! Ooops. Too late!!! I appreciate that this is supposed to be a philosophical discussion...and I'll get back to that. But first: one of my other pet peeves is this. You all, no doubt, do exactly what I do. As I begin a repair project and I bring out tools I leave them in a convenient spot because if I used them once I'll need them again before I finish. Now, after years of experience I can quickly tell if the project will be Metric or SAE and I have a fairly good eye for which bolt head requires which wrench size. But...when manufacturers use different sized or different shaped fasteners to mount one component, it makes an enjoyable hobby or task frustrating. One one project and on one component I might end up with several long and stubby wrenches, short and deep sockets, adaptors, extenders, swiveling things, and don't forget the prying tools, the flashlights and inspection mirrors.

I often try to imagine how much time Americans spend trying to figure out what size tool fits what size fastener. There is much to be said for a designer who can say: "you can work on my product with a 3/8" wrench...that's all".

Just last night my wife said that a food product she was opening could never actually be purchased and used by the owner of the company. One shouldn't need a sharp implement to get into food products!

As for philosophy, when I get the chance to chat with eager learners I always suggest they consider the next time they have to work on the same part they are working on now. For example, thinking about the homebuilt airplane example above I'd imagine things like easy access and labeling things were important considerations. Again...our experiences can be helpful if we find ways to share. Sites like this and others really can make a difference.

[DIYer]

Would not being able to service cars be the reason why I prefer old school builds? Probably. I like working on my own stuff and that, sadly, is a trait I don't see much of anymore.

[rgsparber]

Dave,

So how to we get the people eager to learn in front of those that have a huge amount of practical knowledge? I wonder if the Maker movement is part of the answer?

Rick

[daveward]

Dave,

So how to we get the people eager to learn in front of those that have a huge amount of practical knowledge? I wonder if the Maker movement is part of the answer?

Rick

Hi Rick,

Your reputation precedes you. I must admit that I had to GOOGLE "Maker Movement" after I read your post. I shouldn't render an opinion of the "movement" (although I am tempted) when I didn't even know about it ten minutes ago. More research needed. As for answering your first question about linking people together, it’s a real challenge.

The old fashioned way was to offer a class at the community college. The new way is to publish your own blog or webpage. If it is interactive, you (the teacher) will get a bit of satisfaction when you get questions or comments that demonstrate the student gets it. But, it won't at all be like having a student in a face-to-face relationship where you can watch the proud gleam in his eye and the broad smile when he (she) shows the teacher the latest accomplishment.

So, it will be different. Which is too bad. I suppose I could write a book. No…you see that and writing a blog doesn’t give the teacher the opportunity to fine tune the message when the student gives you the look…the look that says “I don’t understand”. The look that you respond to by saying what you said another way, or offering another visual demonstration.

Rick, I would give my right arm, or some valuable body part, if I actually had 15 interested learners to share with. Face to face. It would be great fun.

Dave

[rgsparber]

Here is another way to stoke interest in hands on things: collect a pile of broken appliances that are safe to take apart. No vacuum tubes or toxic chemicals. The best kinds require few tools to open and have a lot of mechanical stuff inside. Then get a bunch of young kids with at least one parent in attendance. Put a pile of hand tools in the center of the table and stand back. Be available to answer questions and loosen the occasional stiff screw. Otherwise, stay out of the way.

You will kindle the excitement hidden in the kids and most likely rekindle the excitement in the parent. We have had times when it is necessary to give some parents their own broken appliance because they took over their kid's project.

[DIYer]

Excellent idea, Rick! As a newly-minted grandpa, I'd like to "train" my grandson to work with his hands. He's very deft with using iPads and smartphones, but drops the stuff when I start tinkering. So, the innate interest is there. Using non-working appliances and then encouraging a kid to repair it would be a great start.

[rgsparber]

The key to this learning exercise is to not impose a goal on the kids. They might be thrilled to just be able to open the device and proudly walk away with a few screws. That's fine. They will be back for more when they are ready. The only place I stop the adventure is if they start to horse around and become potentially dangerous.

Haven't you taken things apart to get parts to make something entirely new?

[kbalch]

This thread has been moved to the Must Read subforum. Congrats (and thanks) to normalbill for making such a valuable contribution!

[oldsalt]

btt. Thanks for a very thought provoking read. I have to agree with everything that's been said. Down here in the lower south pacific the powers that be did the same thing and dismantled the apprentiship system. Now there's a huge hole in the engineering industry. A lot of which is being filed by imigrants which is fine for industry but leaves our kids with nothing but white collar options. The schools are not helping the situation with a predominant idealogy of you have to go to university to achieve your potential.

[Tom Kurth]

Oh boy, oh boy! Where to start? Another fng here, but I'm not too bashful so I'll just throw right in. I'm not gonna try to organize this and it's gonna be something of a ramble, but there seems to be others like me here. As I was reading this thread I knew I would have to respond because so much said is near and dear to me. I scribbled some notes and am going to respond in such order as I found things without resorting to pulling up quotes.

1) My wife's onetime aunt worked at Rocky Mountain Flats nuclear installation as a draftsman. For several years after her retirement, they kept calling her back to do on paper what the kids couldn't do on computers with the fanciest of CAD programs.

2) I may catch flack for this, but oldtimers have been complaining about 'kids these days' ever since there have been 'kids' and probably since there have been 'days.' And they've been saying for just as long "They just don't build 'em like they used to." In my experience in the building and cabinet trades, especially from remodeling, I know this: There have ALWAYS been butchers out there--it's just that their stuff hasn't stood the test of time, only the well-made stuff is still around. And someday soon those 'kids' are going to turn into the oldtimers saying the same things. Our responsibility is to pass on as best we can what we have learned to whoever is willing to learn it. My 20-year-old just started working part time at the cabinet shop where I'm employed. He's doing well and I think it is likely that he will stay there even after he finishes auto tech school, mostly because he has learn that modern mechanics is about diagnostic machines and electronics: He is a hands on guy. He will continue to do well because of the work ethic he has learned at home. I've had the pleasure of training others like him, but so many who end up in the trades are there because of personality flaws, the druggies, the flakes and the lazy asses. Schools see the trades as yesterday's news and steer the 'good' ones to where the money is. There have been a couple come through that I encouraged to go to specialty schools like College of the Redwoods or North Bennett Street School but those kids are few and far between.
3)The categories of workman are something I've long thought about. I've come to this conclusion. There is a hierarchy in the trades: laborer, craftsman, artisan, and artist. We all start at the one end, and hopefully, achieve some higher station. The one thing sure is that respect is earned by the WAY one works, not the job in which he is ensconced.
4)I echo Lou Gehrig when he said "I am the luckiest man alive." I was well on the way to a teaching degree when I figured out that academia wasn't for me. I was lucky to land in the building trade, but wasn't smart enough to recognize that I had found my passion. I strayed away, tried going back to school, did factory work and supervision and finally by accident found my way back to cabinetry. Now I am accomplished in my trade, respected by bosses and co-workers, and happier than I deserve. To anyone who isn't as happy, I can only say "Find your passion!"

5)Regarding complaints about schools these days: Much of what's wrong with schools today, IMHO, lies in three areas. First, schools today are expected to do much more than simply educate. In the modern family where economic necessity demands two incomes, much of what is expected of teachers falls into the category of 'child-rearing.' Second, there is way too much emphasis on sports and activities at the expense of academics. In the small high school my son attended about half of the staff were coaches of some sort and their value as coaches far out-weighed their worth in the classroom. Third, the endless mantra of testing and 'accountability' driven, at least in part, by conservative politics and liberal sensibilities, means that educators have a greater priorities than teaching and learning.

6)When my son finishes his automotive degree, the starting wage in that industry will make his two years at tech school almost worthless. People keep preaching about the jobs available in the trades, but so many of those jobs don't pay a living wage to start. Until wages for working folks improve, our status as a nation will decline. ( Sorry, trying to avoid things political.)

7)I, too, found myself thinking of 'Zen and the Art . . .'

8)'Designers who have never built.' Boy, that raises some hackles. Our designer at work has no sense of proportion at all. I get a line drawing and then have the wonderful task of fitting her ideas into some semblance of reality. GRRR!

9)A lot of teachers, both in schools and out, fail to teach the basic logic of their subjects. I learned more about algebra from a 1930's textbook than I did in school in the '70's. If my teacher had started out by explaining the '=' in the middle and what it really meant, everything else would have flowed from there. The same teacher did much better with geometry because he assumed we knew nothing at all and he was right. As an English major in college, it was not until a senior level class, English Language and Linguistics, that I was finally exposed to the flawed logic that imposes Latin grammar (highly inflected) on the
English language which has very little inflection left from its Teutonic roots. English, because of its emphasis on word order, has an elegant logic to it that few seem to understand. In the end it works much like algebra with the verb being the '='.

OK, my ranting and raving and rambling are done. Nice to meet you all.

Best,
Tom