I see a lot of positive reactions here, but reading this is almost upsetting to me.
Do we really live in a world where it's a profound realization that a person can screw four boards together in a rectangle to make a garden bed?
This is some real top level science fiction stuff where society seems so crippled that an average person can't think to solve the simplest problem without buying a solution. Surely it must not be true.
We kinda do live in that world, but I think the HN demographics make it seem worse than it really is. People, especially programmers with tons of disposable income, are used to just buying stuff. Even the ones who think of themselves as "makers:" it's not what they normally make.
That frame of mind is as alien to me as it apparently is to you: I grew up around people who just made what they needed to in order to get by with minimal money. Having a professional carpenter as head of household didn't hurt either.
Comments
I see a lot of positive reactions here, but reading this is almost upsetting to me.
Do we really live in a world where it's a profound realization that a person can screw four boards together in a rectangle to make a garden bed?
This is some real top level science fiction stuff where society seems so crippled that an average person can't think to solve the simplest problem without buying a solution. Surely it must not be true.
We kinda do live in that world, but I think the HN demographics make it seem worse than it really is. People, especially programmers with tons of disposable income, are used to just buying stuff. Even the ones who think of themselves as "makers:" it's not what they normally make.
That frame of mind is as alien to me as it apparently is to you: I grew up around people who just made what they needed to in order to get by with minimal money. Having a professional carpenter as head of household didn't hurt either.