

Fix Things, Never Force It: Lessons From Grandpa - rmah
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/06/fix-things-never-force-it-lessons-from-grandpa/276873/

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jaysonelliot
It really grates on me to get to the end of a heartfelt article like this and
smack right into a corporate plug like "…and that's why I created iFixit.com -
your free repair guide for everything!"

I'm not begrudging the founder of a company the opportunity to talk about who
he is and why he created his business, but the way you do it matters. Is this
an article about iFixit.com? Fine, I'd probably be interested in that, go
ahead and let me know, then tell me about your grandfather who inspired you.

If it's an article about your grandfather, then just say something like "he
inspired me to create my own business that helps people learn to fix things."
You don't have to give yourself a plug. Lastly, if you absolutely _must_ plug
your company name, at least try to do it without making it sound like a line
of ad copy. After a few hundred words tugging on my emotions and making me
care about your personal story, it feels like a betrayal of my trust at the
end to leave me wondering if I just read an advertorial.

~~~
sliverstorm
This community doesn't really seem to have a culture of making smooth plugs. I
see pretty brazen plugs on a regular basis.

~~~
jaysonelliot
Yeah, but this is _The Atlantic_ , a 156-year-old magazine with a reputation
for literary and journalistic excellence. It's discomfiting to get to the end
of an article in a publication of its caliber and be left wondering "what did
I just read?"

~~~
greghinch
_" a 156-year-old magazine with a reputation for literary and journalistic
excellence"_

They've been coasting on that reputation without maintaining it for a decade
or more.

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mikestew
I'm not an old man, but I'm not young anymore, either. Maybe it's "these kids
today", or maybe it's that I now live in an urban/suburban area much different
than rural area where I grew up, and where I spent the start of my adult life.
But for now the inability of those around me to fix things stands out to me.
Fixing a leaking faucet, laying a laminate floor, putting a roof rack on a
car, all of it gets hired out by nearly everyone I know. Or just throw stuff
out and buy a new one.

Maybe it's because we're all making good money now and choose to spend our
time doing something else while someone gets paid to do the things we choose
not to. Friends were going to put in laminate floor. I told them, "it's so
easy, you'd be embarrassed to pay someone else to do it". They were going to
pay someone anyway until the contractor flaked out. To their credit, with a
lot of my tools and guidance, they went ahead and did the job, and got a lot
of satisfaction out of it.

I'm not lamenting anything. It's more an observation of how many in my current
circle are surprised I can install my own garage door opener, and how it would
be assumed I would of course do so by those around me not so many years ago.

~~~
sliverstorm
I think it took hold so quickly because it is a self-reinforcing cycle.
Picture a well-to-do father who makes good money and spends too much time at
work. He elects to outsource things like laying tile and repairing his car,
because he spends little enough time with his family as it is. As a result,
what opportunity do his children have to learn these things? Thus, over the
course of just one or two generations, you move from "valuing your time" to
"completely unable to perform repairs".

It doesn't surprise me, either. My father was very much that type of father. I
luckily picked up a lot of the skills on my own volition, but already I choose
to pay someone else to replace my radiator when I could do it myself, even
though I am yet unencumbered by family duties.

~~~
mikestew
That's a really good point, not only does it not get done DIY-style, it
doesn't get passed on. I think that's where the problem lies with some of my
friends: they don't even realize DIY is an option because they've never known
anyone to do such things. It's one thing to think "yeah, I could do it but I
choose not to" (I think it myself at times), it's another to not even know
that a professional is not required.

As for family time, and I say this as one without kids, if the kids are old
enough I can't think of a more valuable way to spend time than teaching your
kids to build something.

~~~
sliverstorm
_I can 't think of a more valuable way to spend time..._

Well, this firstly requires the kid is interested, secondly that the task at
hand is approachable by a kid (e.g. painting instead of transmission work),
and thirdly that you have the time to tutor them while you make the repairs.

Not to say it should not be done, oh no! But it is not always an option.

------
pdog
_> He went to work for IBM, overseeing the construction of their big plant in
South San Jose. A while back, the entire compound was razed. They replaced it
with a Lowe's and a parking lot._

Let's thank the baby boomer generation, a.k.a. The Dumbest Generation of
Narcissists In The History of The World[1].

[1] -
[http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2008/10/the_dumbest_generatio...](http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2008/10/the_dumbest_generation_is_only.html)

~~~
eclipxe
I live down the road from that Lowes. Let me tell you, it is pretty
convenient. In fact, that entire area (much more than just a Lowes and parking
lot) is the old Hitachi hard drive plant - it is now being converted into a
massive number of homes and shops[1], which South San Jose needs.

[1]
[http://www.sjdistrict2.com/index.php?option=com_content&view...](http://www.sjdistrict2.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=249:village-
oaks-san-jose&catid=1:latest-news)

------
mathattack
Wow - that was a very meaningful contribution. It certainly shows Kyle Wiens
to be a man of purpose.

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peatmoss
Not exactly the same thing, but this reminds me of advice from my own grandpa,
who was handy with tools on his farm. He saw me straining to loosen a nut with
a wrench. "Don't use force, just get a bigger hammer," he said and handed me a
pipe to fit over the end of the wrench to increase my mechanical advantage.

~~~
logjam
Sticking nuts and bolts are the _perfect meditation_.

Pedant alert: consider a beefy breaker bar or a torque wrench for that
mechanical advantage. A pipe slipped on the end of a wrench has a habit of
slipping off or breaking the wrench, and possibly causing injury to mechanism,
mechanic, etc.

But yeah, I'm with ya. It's amazing the satisfaction we get from doing stuff
ourselves and from the "working smarter" stuff our elders can teach us, if
we'll only slow down, ask, and listen with care.

------
xiaoma
I love this. It brings back many memories of my own grandfather, a former
railway engineer teaching me how to set up model train tracks, how to properly
hammer nails, how to drive and so many other things.

I definitely don't regret choosing software for myself, but I cherish all he
taught me.

------
tsmith
In high school auto shop we had a different (and contradictory) mantra: "Make
it fit!"

Sometimes you've gotta force it...

