My Parents were Makers before 1970

RE: My Parents were Makers before 1970

bluescreen — Sat, 23 May 2015 21:32:50 GMT

Jan, you inspired me to re-read a section from Walter Isaacson's masterful biography of Steve Jobs:

This passion for perfection led him to indulge his instinct to control. Most hackers and hobbyists liked to customize, modify, and jack various things into their computers. To Jobs, this was a threat to a seamless end-to-end user experience. Wozniak, a hacker at heart, disagreed. He wanted to include eight slots on the Apple II for users to insert whatever smaller circuit boards and peripherals they might want. Jobs insisted there be only two, for a printer and a modem. "Usually, I'm really easy to get along with, but this time I told him, 'If that's what you want, go get yourself another computer,'" Wozniak recalled. "I knew that people like me would eventually come up with things to add to any computer." Wozniak won the argument that time, but he could sense his power waning. "I was in a position to do that then. I wouldn't always be."

I think this split symbolizes one of the main differences between the culture of making and the culture of consuming. Consumers want pretty, tied-up devices that you don't need to open because they will pretty much do what you want right out of the box. Makers want to know how it works. They want to take it apart and look under the hood-- not to only to satisfy their curiosity, but also to have an aesthetic experience with the object. Marx once observed that industrial workers were not only alienated from their fellow human being, but also from the products they made. Churning out 20,000 chairs by occupying one spot on a massive assembly line does not impart any kind of intimate connection between the worker and the final product, especially when compared to the lone artisan lovingly crafting a hand-carved chair in the privacy of his workshop.

I think the culture of making derives a lot of its power precisely because it restores a connection between the artist and the object of his craft.

RE: My Parents were Makers before 1970

nlarson — Fri, 22 May 2015 13:12:00 GMT

What a beautiful photo and post! Thank you for sharing this with us [mention:acaf6a9338de4eef8f6717d5561ed01d:e9ed411860ed4f2ba0265705b8793d05] [View:/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-a9457aee-5420-4875-8f80-ba5c49ee3e4d/contentimage_5F00_1.png:16:16]

RE: My Parents were Makers before 1970

balearicdynamics — Fri, 22 May 2015 06:44:44 GMT

Absolutely true !

Me too I have lived very child experiences as a maker [View:/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-a9457aee-5420-4875-8f80-ba5c49ee3e4d/5582.contentimage_5F00_1.png:16:16] [View:/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-a9457aee-5420-4875-8f80-ba5c49ee3e4d/5582.contentimage_5F00_1.png:16:16] [View:/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-a9457aee-5420-4875-8f80-ba5c49ee3e4d/5582.contentimage_5F00_1.png:16:16]

Started with poor technologies and year by year always used more complex ones. First PC was in 1979 ...

RE: My Parents were Makers before 1970

mcb1 — Fri, 22 May 2015 03:59:19 GMT

Nice.

I was intrigued how little it took to keep you fully entertained....it takes more now.[View:/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-a9457aee-5420-4875-8f80-ba5c49ee3e4d/contentimage_5F00_938.png:16:16]

I'm sure the Health and Safety people would be gob smacked at the sticking out bits, but you seem to have survived ...

Mark

RE: My Parents were Makers before 1970

jw0752 — Thu, 21 May 2015 19:39:54 GMT

Very nice post and what a talented Mom to have made such a beautiful coat for you.

John

RE: My Parents were Makers before 1970

bluescreen — Thu, 21 May 2015 15:44:39 GMT

What a great post, Jan! I think we are emerging from a thankfully-brief period in which people were discouraged from making their own things. It's really cool to see this example of how making is not new, but something which connects us to how human beings have been throughout nearly all of our existence.