Source: https://infosec.exchange/@0xabad1dea/117485038136053872
transcript
“It’s a poor worksman who blames his tools” has always been complete nonsense. No-one complains about imperfect tools faster and louder than a master. A master will yank a cheap or damaged tool out of your hand and yell at you for not blaming it yet
Cheap, lousy tools come from middle managers who don’t know how to do your job. Blame the hell out of poor tools and those who demand you use them
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I agree with this to a degree, but I think the idea is to imbue the idea that an expert with shoddy tools will be more effective than an amateur with the best tools.
And GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) is a thing a lot of beginners fall prey to. Nobody likes being bad at something, and manufacturers love to promise that their gimmick will make you good overnight.
I do photography as a hobby, and you absolutely do not need a $2000 camera to take good photos. Some of my favorite shots have been taken with my phone, despite owning a dslr.
Musician here. My main instrument is guitar. I agree with this wholeheartedly.
Manufacturers have so much mythological bullshit in their copy. A lot of easy to add things that most beginners (or most people in general) do not need are plastered all over.
I have a nice rig with a (few actually, but one main) tube amp, custom guitar, nice pedalboard. It feels good, no doubt. No hate for the nice rig with all the things you’re supposed to love. They’re fun to play and sound amazing.
But my favorite rig is my duosonic rig. An early 90s practice guitar that’s been beat to shit, a boss overdrive, a cheap AiaB pedal, and a Palmer cab sim. That’s the whole rig. It’s technically my backup rig but I play it all the time.
A setup on pretty much any guitar that has a recognizable name and any recognizable name amp or modeler (if that’s what you’re into) will get you a sound that no one in any audience will be weird about and won’t be a nightmare to play.
Some of my favorite music is cheap, shitty gear or things that were called toys in their day. Some of the most famous music was made from that. Not all. But don’t let a company sell you on some shit because it’s shiny.
Another nice thing about cheap gear, is that it’s less intimidating. I had a friend once who wanted to get into guitar, so his folks bought him a real nice new acoustic guitar, and he was just too worried about breaking it to actually learn how to play. His buddy took him down to the thrift store, got him a $10 used Yamaha electric to learn on instead, and he was able to get over that particular hump.
I have an addiction to hobbies, and my technique for aquiring equipment for new hobbies is to get gear that is cheap and “hackable”, as in my experience that makes for the most learning opportunities at the lowest costs.
Absolutely, I often say that the only hobby I stick to is acquiring new hobbies. I got into 3d printing with a cheap Ender 3 that I proceeded to hack and fix until no original parts remained. I learned more about 3d printing than I ever would have buying a state of the art printer. I now have an expensive printer that I don’t need to maintain as much, mostly to support my other hobbies, but if something goes wrong I know how to fix it, and I know how to get the best results.
I also got into 3d printing, about 2 years ago. I picked up an Ender V3 SE for about $100 and have since modded both hardware and firmware to beyond recognition. Although a few months ago I did decided that I couldn’t go much further with that body plan. After searching for a good while(and nearly deciding to build a Voron), I decided to preorder a Sovol M1D, which I am anxiously awaiting.
The master craftsman will use the shitty tools they have to make the good tools they need.
That only works if you’re the kind of craftsman that makes tools. A carpenter probably isn’t making a good planer (at least not from raw materials)
A carpenter who is incapable of making a planer is not a “master” carpenter. For the master, the decision to purchase a planer is a choice. The novice has no choice: he can only buy.
That seems like a high, specific bar for mastery. I don’t think, to be considered a master filmmaker, someone has to be able to fashion their own camera (and film) from scratch. I think tool making is a whole separate set of skills from tool using, and someone could master one or the other without both.
I would say that you’re describing a “skilled” craftsman. The bar for “mastery” is extraordinarily high.
In order to be a master carpenter you need to be able to make metal tools? So a master carpenter must also be a master blacksmith?
He must be able to distinguish tool steel from mild steel. He must be able to hone an edge. I would say a master carpenter needs to be a skilled blacksmith, not a master blacksmith, or he hasn’t mastered the craft of carpentry.
I think you’re undervaluing the skilled carpenter when you refuse to admit he hasn’t mastered the craft.
The master craftsman will know where they can wing it and by how much, and this includes shitty tools
Huh. I interpreted it to mean: if you end up with a crappy result, it’s on you and not the tools. This leads you to think: should I focus on improving my skills? Or change the task? Or adjust expectations? etc.
Both interpretations seem perfectly valid
Good craftsmen don’t blame bad tools because they don’t use bad tools. They have learned the craft well enough to know what makes a good tool and will get that one and properly maintain it.
Also, good craftsmen could use bad tools if they really had to, and they’d still produce decent work out of it.
While a bad craftsman does shitty work and then blames the bad tools for it.
It’s about responsibility. The master doesn’t blame a bad tool if they get a bad result. They blame themselves for using a bad tool. Or in some cases, the person or system that forces them to use a bad tool.
While true, it’s also true that a master craftsman can do more with a rock than a poor craftsman can do with a hardware store.
Well, the poor craftsman doesn’t have any money to buy tools from the hardware store
It’s a poor craftsman who blames his tools. It’s a master who knows what tools are worth using.
I blame the shareholders instead, everything has to constantly get cheaper to sustain growth, it’s unsustainable and frankly, idiotic. Capitalism.
I get what you’re saying… but middle managers are the poor tools!
I feel like that idiom implies “blame for poor results”. Because yeah, bad tools will slow you down, but if you’re a master, you’ll still make it work to get a high-quality result.
In the making of for RHCP’s Dani California, Flea complains about the crappy prop bass they gave him for one of the scenes. I saw that in high-school and will never forget it. I teach guitar and bass now and always remind beginners that their guitars need to be properly set up before they can even consider blaming themselves.
Its my contention that even in a communist society, one that has reinvigorated the passion for craftsmanship, mechanics of all crafts will tinker with different tools.
The method of producing the end product could and should adapt to the need of the crafts person producing it. It’s what, in my opinion, makes the product human/ flawed/ authentic as a result.
I for one enjoy seeing imperfections in hand made products. It gives me insight into how the person crafting it may have held the object. Quite possibly indicating how their physical state was when producing it. Very human, I like that shit.
I for one enjoy seeing imperfections in hand made products.
Well then, brother, have I got some deals for you!
I’m reading.
Took me like 5 rereads to understand this for some reason lol. Anyone else found this one confusing?
