The Case for Working With Your Hands

[John Picard]

Brilliant article. One of my favorite parts:

High-school shop-class programs were widely dismantled in the 1990s as educators prepared students to become “knowledge workers.” The imperative of the last 20 years to round up every warm body and send it to college, then to the cubicle, was tied to a vision of the future in which we somehow take leave of material reality and glide about in a pure information economy. This has not come to pass. To begin with, such work often feels more enervating than gliding. More fundamentally, now as ever, somebody has to actually do things: fix our cars, unclog our toilets, build our houses.

People are often amazed that I work on my own vehicles, work on the house (plumbing, electrical, drywall, etc) or perform a myriad of other tasks. My response is that for a society of such "smart" people, why doesn't anyone think anymore?

The Case for Working With Your Hands

 

[farmkid]

I found that article to be very enlightening. It reflected much of my own thinking on the subject. As you might guess from my username, I grew up on a farm where I did plenty of working with my hands. As a scientist, my work now is much more of the "thinking" variety and I spend most days in the lab running experiments, reading papers, etc. However, I still go help my father out on his farm when I can, do my own car maintenance and repair (or get help from my mechanic brother), build stuff when needed, etc. When I spend part of a day driving a grain combine or build a bed for my son or replace the brake pads on my car, it yields a certain sense of satisfaction to look back and see what I've accomplished. I get some of that when I complete a successful experiment or get a paper published, but it isn't the same. For that reason, I plan to move into more applied research, where I can look back and see something more concrete that I've accomplished, some solution to a real problem affecting society. I think that goes back to my roots on the farm and working with my hands.

I like this author's idea of encouraging gifted students to learn a trade before sending them off to spend the rest of their lives in a cubicle or corner office working with numbers or abstract ideas or whatever other mental-only task they may do.

 

[sidious618]

I always work with my hands. Well, at least one hand.

 

[Colonel Green]

High-school shop-class programs were widely dismantled in the 1990s as educators prepared students to become “knowledge workers.” The imperative of the last 20 years to round up every warm body and send it to college, then to the cubicle, was tied to a vision of the future in which we somehow take leave of material reality and glide about in a pure information economy.

Although there is a bit of an overemphasis on the "university track" in schools here, there are still a myriad of shop classes available. The school I teach at even has an automotive career preparation program in which students spend about 1/2 their school hours in a shop.

 

[John Picard]

High-school shop-class programs were widely dismantled in the 1990s as educators prepared students to become “knowledge workers.” The imperative of the last 20 years to round up every warm body and send it to college, then to the cubicle, was tied to a vision of the future in which we somehow take leave of material reality and glide about in a pure information economy.

Although there is a bit of an overemphasis on the "university track" in schools here, there are still a myriad of shop classes available. The school I teach at even has an automotive career preparation program in which students spend about 1/2 their school hours in a shop.

Not in the States (as much). I attended a non-sectarian private school from grade 2 through 12, and when the new Headmaster arrived in 1982 he had the wood shop dismantled and the shop teacher dismissed. He claimed the equipment was old, in need of repair, and dangerous. No way. The drill presses, table saws, and the other equipment was all old school stuff made in the 40's, 50's, and 60's that just won't die and is sought after to this day. Mind you, he was also pushing that four years down the road there would be a mandatory "French Day", whereupon ALL BUSINESS/TEACHING at the school would be conducted in French on a particular day in the schedule. All of the teachers pretty much rolled their eyes at that one. Thankfully, it never came to fruition, especially since it was almost an even split between students who studied French versus Latin.

 

[Hermiod]

Here in the UK we have drastic shortages in people willing to take up old fashioned trades. How many kids want to thatch roofs for a living ? Not very glamourous, sure, but there are a lot of old houses with thatched roofs.

 

[ITL]

Here in the UK we have drastic shortages in people willing to take up old fashioned trades. How many kids want to thatch roofs for a living ? Not very glamourous, sure, but there are a lot of old houses with thatched roofs.

Lots of thatched roofs in the small villages near where I live - I used to see a gang working on the thatched roof of a pub as I went to work on the bus.

Roofing's not for me, though - with my back? No way. Plus, I'd probably fall off.

 

[Hermiod]

Here in the UK we have drastic shortages in people willing to take up old fashioned trades. How many kids want to thatch roofs for a living ? Not very glamourous, sure, but there are a lot of old houses with thatched roofs.

Lots of thatched roofs in the small villages near where I live - I used to see a gang working on the thatched roof of a pub as I went to work on the bus.

Roofing's not for me, though - with my back? No way. Plus, I'd probably fall off.

A lot of the houses that have them are protected as well, so you've got repeat customers there too.

 

[An Officer]

I wish I had trained as plumber instead of going to university. I'd be making a mint by now. An ordinary plumber around here makes sixty thousand pounds a year, no problem. Not to mention how satisfying it would be to gut out the archaic plumbing in this house.

 

[Emher]

I actually try to do what I can myself more and more. I'm determined to learn how learn more and more about my car seeing as it's my newext big intrest. So far I've got some stuff down like cleaning it properly by hand and changing the window wipers

 

[Lindley]

I must say I get some satisfaction out of the occasional bit of handywork. Not everything has to be about algorithm design and implementation.

 

[trampledamage]

Unfortunately I'm completely cack-handed and a danger to myself and others. But I like to think I'm helping others stay in a trade by paying them to fix stuff for me

 

[trampledamage]

First time I've had a double-post! All I did was press the post button once, then I left it alone.

 

[Emher]

I love that after saying you where cack-handed, you double posted

 

[trampledamage]

I love that after saying you where cack-handed, you double posted

I know... *sigh* the internet is out to get me!

 

[Emher]

I just stared the Internet down, then it left me alone after that.

 

[trampledamage]

I'm going to tell it I know you - maybe it'll leave me alone then.

 

[Super Grover]

This might be what I've been looking for. At the end of every day I don't feel like I"ve accomplished anything at all. The next day, I have the same stuff to do all over again.

 

[Shatmandu]

When I fix something at home, the wife appreciates it and I typically get laid.

I've taken to calling my toolbox "the leg spreader."

Joe, who ain't fixin' shit this weekend

 

[JoeZhang]

It doesn't make economic sense for me, for every hour I spend doing manual labour I would lose money, and a tradesmen would do it quicker anyway.