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
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.
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.
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.
Please do not take shots alcohol causes cancer and cirrhosis.
Shots shots shots shots shots
The master craftsman will use the shitty tools they have to make the good tools they need.
The master craftsman will know where they can wing it and by how much, and this includes shitty tools
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)
It does depend on the field, but a lot of trades utilize tool making as an entry level educational opportunity to teach students basic skills. One of the first things I built in school for orthotics and prosthetic was a set of calipers used to measure the inside of a prosthetic socket. I still use the calipers and the skills used to create the calipers on a regular basis.
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.
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?
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.
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