An interesting book

Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work

Review from Amazon:

Starred Review. Philosopher and motorcycle repair-shop owner Crawford extols the value of making and fixing things in this masterful paean to what he calls manual competence, the ability to work with oneÖs hands. According to the author, our alienation from how our possessions are made and how they work takes many forms: the decline of shop class, the design of goods whose workings cannot be accessed by users (such as recent Mercedes models built without oil dipsticks) and the general disdain with which we regard the trades in our emerging information economy. Unlike todayÖs knowledge worker, whose work is often so abstract that standards of excellence cannot exist in many fields (consider corporate executives awarded bonuses as their companies sink into bankruptcy), the person who works with his or her hands submits to standards inherent in the work itself: the lights either turn on or they donÖt, the toilet flushes or it doesnÖt, the motorcycle roars or sputters. With wit and humor, the author deftly mixes the details of his own experience as a tradesman and then proprietor of a motorcycle repair shop with more philosophical considerations. (June)

The thesis of this book, that the satisfaction and importance of doing things go yourself as a means of achieving a higher level of happiness is to my mind of great significance. I must admit at the outset that I have always held this opinion and done as much as I can to service the things I own. There's few satisfactions as soothing as finishing a project and seeing the results.

I am constantly amazed at how far many people have gotten from understanding how things work. More disappointingly is the disinterest, replaced by other less manual things. The lack of interest in the things you use everyday like the tires on your car lead to a disconnect that at times is dangerous. People buy things, cars, TVs, large household appliances buy the color or shape of the product and have no ability to understand the internal differences.

I know most people don't really care to know or understand. In reality that disinterest leads to the need to hire people to do the simplest of repairs. The lack of knowledge lets folks believe that the people who made the product are the enemy. They have no way to judge the value of criteria used in the products production. If people knew just a little bit about physics (not quantum mechanics, mind you) they would not drive a top heavy SUV as if it were a low slung sports car. Before an accident people expect to hear squealing brakes but that no longer happens since the advent of anti lock brakes. So, when the witness tells the police he/she didn't hear the car attempting to stop because there was noise, they're ignorant.