Comments on: Hands On

By: weeping for brunnhilde

weeping for brunnhilde — Fri, 29 May 2009 07:36:54 +0000

[13] Heh heh heh. Can’t say that I have, although I can say that I used to prop up an art book on top of the toilet, leaned up against the wall, opened to some or other picture like the Oath of the Horatii. Ah, back when I was young and romantic.

By: Diane Firstman

Diane Firstman — Fri, 29 May 2009 04:33:20 +0000

[11]

Have you thought about Impressionism while ON the toilet?

By: Jehosephat

Jehosephat — Fri, 29 May 2009 01:55:56 +0000

That’s why I love this blog. Nice post.

By: weeping for brunnhilde

weeping for brunnhilde — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:19:03 +0000

[7] “So what would you rather have, a discussion about Impressionism or a working toilet.”

Whoa! with the false dichotomy!

I’d rather have *both!*

I’d love to chat about impressionism *with* my plumber. Why not?

By: PJ

PJ — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:01:43 +0000

“You think? You’ll never kill anyone if you go around thinkin’.” – Graham Chapman as Yellowbeard

: )

By: Diane Firstman

Diane Firstman — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:47:59 +0000

I think that school’s most important function is to instill a sense of curiosity and wonder in students.

The desire to ask questions, delve further, not take the standard “this is the way it has always been, that’s why” line. That’s an important trait to develop, regardless of whether you stick your nose in a balance sheet or under a car hood.

I personally like the “How it Works” / “How its Made” TV shows. I’m naturally curious about life in general. But sadly, there are many people who don’t think that deeply (or aren’t raised/taught to think that deeply).

By: Shaun P.

Shaun P. — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:22:58 +0000

I like taking things apart, and I like understanding how things work. I especially like doing things that allow me to not have to call the professional. There is something incredibly satisfying in DIY stuff, whether its building your own computer, or making a small table, or fixing the toilet’s flushing mechanism – especially when it works right and looks nice! It gives me a good feeling of independence.

But the one cost to “tinkering” I’ve found is that it takes time, and with kids, especially little ones, I find I prefer to spend that time with them instead. My hope is that as they get older, they’ll like to tinker too, and then we can do that stuff together.

By: rbj

rbj — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:10:54 +0000

So what would you rather have, a discussion about Impressionism or a working toilet. Me, I’d choose the latter. Heck even the work by janitors/custodians is important, I like having a clean bathroom at work, not to mention good sanitation practices cuts down on diseases like swine flu.

I’ve just picked up woodworking as a hobby, can’t afford much equipment so I’m going small with scroll sawing. There’s a lot of satisfaction in having something physical finished, rather than some papers pushed off to someone else.

By: Raf

Raf — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:30:04 +0000

I’m college educated, learned some trade work on the side. I was the first in my family to go to college and graduate, to me that holds some sort of cachet in my family.

I have no problem getting my hands dirty either; I do repairs around the house, as well as on my computer and my car.

By: The Hawk

The Hawk — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:17:11 +0000

Actually this article kind of annoys me in that I’d been thinking along those lines lately. Now everybody’s gonna get the same idea! Well, at least we’ll have more mechanics.

By: RIYank

RIYank — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:18:28 +0000

Me too. Not that I regret taking the desk route, but the piece was so well written and so thought-provoking.

By: randym77

randym77 — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:57:53 +0000

I loved that article, too. If Jeff Rubin is correct, we may all be working with our hands more in the future.

By: The Hawk

The Hawk — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:49:22 +0000

I agree with this article as well. I really don’t think college is the end-all-be-all people make it out to be. Especially nowadays.

By: vockins

vockins — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:25:37 +0000

As a guy with a MA from NYU that also has a XR-750 piston tattooed on his arm, I thought this article was fantastic. I chose the exact same path for a while.