Thank you for writing about this! I have been thinking a lot about these things but not in such an articulate way. Matthew Crawford's book Shopcraft as Soulcraft really resonated with me. I also abhor the way Managerialists throw around 'the need to innovate'.
My robot vacuum broke. The broken part is likely cheap if I could get to it, but it’s not easily accessed. The repair cost is on par with a new unit. So the whole thing is worthless - all the code etc. And aside from that the company apparently doesn’t want to provide replacement consumables either (brushes, etc.). So our landfills will fill with collections of circuits, heavy metals, plastics, etc. Hooray for progress.
Terrific article. The disposable item mentality has metastasized to non-disposable items and we are worse off for it, even, occasionally, to the point of death.
One of my favorite YouTube videos is of a guy restoring an 1890s Singer sewing machine left out of doors for the better part of a human lifespan, broken and corroded and filthy. In the end, he not only restores its finish but makes it work again. This was a revelation to me and I am not being hyperbolic to say it restored some lost faith in humanity. We rightly praise God as Creator, but let us not forget that He is also the Maintainer and Restorer, and that we would do well to emulate Him in that regard.
Thank you for writing about this! I have been thinking a lot about these things but not in such an articulate way. Matthew Crawford's book Shopcraft as Soulcraft really resonated with me. I also abhor the way Managerialists throw around 'the need to innovate'.
My robot vacuum broke. The broken part is likely cheap if I could get to it, but it’s not easily accessed. The repair cost is on par with a new unit. So the whole thing is worthless - all the code etc. And aside from that the company apparently doesn’t want to provide replacement consumables either (brushes, etc.). So our landfills will fill with collections of circuits, heavy metals, plastics, etc. Hooray for progress.
Terrific article. The disposable item mentality has metastasized to non-disposable items and we are worse off for it, even, occasionally, to the point of death.
One of my favorite YouTube videos is of a guy restoring an 1890s Singer sewing machine left out of doors for the better part of a human lifespan, broken and corroded and filthy. In the end, he not only restores its finish but makes it work again. This was a revelation to me and I am not being hyperbolic to say it restored some lost faith in humanity. We rightly praise God as Creator, but let us not forget that He is also the Maintainer and Restorer, and that we would do well to emulate Him in that regard.
Thank you Michael. I like those kind of videos as well, very satisfying.