Like-Minded People Found

I am a tinkerer. I can often be found in the basement, taking apart some recently-acquired gadget, device, furniture, appliance, etc., or maybe putting it back together. Old bikes, radios, and oak furniture. Antique tools, modern machinery, mystery devices. The only thing I like more than finding them is studying them, understanding them, and when necessary, bringing them back to life. Broken things around the house get fixed. Discarded pieces of furniture get restored. Old machines work again. I am not an electrician, plumber, programmer, or carpenter, but I have done all of those things. Using my mind and my hands is part of the fun. Fixing or building something might be the end goal, but the learning and the puzzle-solving are just as important. I've recently come upon two individuals who not only live by the same credo, but have also promoted it amongst others, and seem to have made a decent living from it, too.

The first gentleman is Matthew B. Crawford, author of "Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work." After working in an office, Mr. Crawford changed careers and opened a motorcycle repair business. He makes the argument that working with one's hands can involve just as much thinking, if not more, than that required in a white collar job. It seems sometimes that people in my generation almost regard blue-collar jobs as a failure of sorts, or perhaps as not living up to one's potential. I think that point of view not only does a dis-service to our fellow man, but also harms us as a nation. What kind of nation will we be when we don't use our hands, or even develop the minds to use them? I look forward to reading this book.

Then we have someone who goes by the name Mister Jalopy. He seems a lot like me...fixing old things, tinkering with technology, writing about it, except he's actually made a business out of it (several, it seems). He fixes old bicycles and sells them in his shop. He made an iPod interface out of an old console stereo. But one of his coolest ideas is the Maker's Bill of Rights, which says that "if you can't open it, you don't own it." I agree. It used to be that people expected the things they bought to last, and when they broke, they expected to be able to fix them, or to have them fixed. So much of what we buy today is impossible to fix, or even to open. Sure, electronics and appliances are a lot more complicated these days, but even some of the simpler tasks would be hard for a skilled professional. Ever try to open an iPod? It's not easy. The Maker's Bill of Rights says that you should be able to open, repair and modify the products you buy. Ok, so many of the things we buy now and in the future will probably be beyond understanding for most of us, but does that mean that manufacturers shouldn't keep us in mind when they make something? They should if they want us to buy it.
-K