
The Posh Pen Paradox: when writers and artists fear their tools - pepys
https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/art-design/2018/03/posh-pen-paradox-when-writers-and-artists-fear-their-tools
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3pt14159
I've noticed that the people that really develop skill in an area almost
always use inferior instruments and material when they're first developing the
skill.

Paradoxically, getting a brand new guitar can be the worst thing to do for a
child interested in music. A simple used one with scratches and stickers
pushes the child's focus to their own skill, not to the object.

Though it isn't true for everyone, I've also noticed that skilled
practitioners beat up their high priced tools in ways that doesn't degrade
their performance, and they're always able to compensate for inferior
situations and build methods of adaptation if they frequently lack the ability
to control the situation. For example, a programmer may set up a linux machine
that they can always SSH into if they can't control the computer they're
working on in order to have a familiar environment or a chef may keep a
spatula and a carefully thought out pre-selected set of spices with them to
always be able to make something flavourful while traveling.

~~~
jkFeiwi
Another reason for this may be that skilled people know enough to ignore
marketing claims.

Let's take guitars. You can get a squire (introductory model), a Fender made
in Mexico (intermediate, a few hundred dollars) or an American standard (top
of the line, a few thousand dollars). Most working musicians I know will stick
with the Mexican fender, because they know there's not much difference between
them and the Americans (The Mexican guitars are quite nice), and you can gig
with it without worrying that a scratch or nick will tank the value.

So who buys the American fenders? People in their 40s and 50s who play guitar,
but not professionally. For them, the guitar is a collectors piece. The story
behind the guitar matters more than how it plays. Don't get me wrong, American
standards are great guitars. But unless you're looking for a very specific
tone, the Mexican fender will do the job.

~~~
gkya
Squire makes lovely guitars. I owned one for some time in my first years
(never became professional, play to myself on and off since years), it was a
cyan strat, and people were amazed with the general intonation of the thing.
The stupid 16yrs old version of me traded it for a shitty acoustic because I
didn't have the money to buy a second one. I could still have that cheap piece
of beauty and play it with joy.

The whole "tone" business (pun unintended) is a bit shady IMO. With an
electric instrument, the wood contributes only so much to the tone. I'd look
for sustain, feedback and intonation over that, especially in the cheaper
segment. You can set up some nice tones with volume and tone on the guitar and
the equalizer on the amp. Put on a nice set of strings and you're good to go.
Tip: use a tuner app to test the notes from random places all over the neck,
at least one note each fret. Make sure everything is in tune. With some
cheaper guitars, they place the first few frets correctly and don't care that
much for the rest.

------
numbers
I can attest to doing this with a camera. In 2012, I bought an entry level
dSLR, it’s about $500 and specs that were middle of the road at the time. By
today’s standards, it is ancient and lacks a lot of cool features. I took some
amazing shots with it and I also learned a lot about photography in the 5+
years I used it. For example, I took about 60k photos with it so thats a lot
of mileage on the camera.

Putting technical features aside, it also lacked a lot of nice to haves that
more expensive cameras come with like dust proofing and water resistance. The
body was made of plastic instead of a magnesium alloy with plastic. The lenses
were a bit lower quality than you can buy for the full frame lenses.

I wouldn’t have realized that new tools doesn’t mean new and better photos
until last year I bought myself a Canon 6D and decided to learn a new camera
all at once. It was boring and tedious, I wanted to go back to my old camera.
Eventually the photos started looking better but I felt less inspired by the
new camera. It had all the cool new features I wanted but it didn’t feel like
my camera.

~~~
frostburg
I find this a bit strange; generally the best thing about more professional
cameras is better controls, not better image quality. I don't like Canons of
that era because of the limited dynamic range, but a 6D is a very ergonomic
camera and handles better than any consumer Canon or Nikon.

I have an issue with very capable, modern cameras too. I have a Sony A7r,
which I find too versatile, to the point of being distracting unless I'm
focused on getting a very specific picture. I prefer using high end, but
older, film cameras, like a Contax G2 or an Hasselblad.

~~~
TheOtherHobbes
The best thing about high end professional cameras is low noise, faster and
more reliable autofocus, and outstanding low light performance. In good light
there's little difference between a cheap prosumer model and a high-end pro
model. But try shooting a scene in candlelight or star light, and the
difference is stark.

Ease of use also matters. Prosumer cameras often have a single rotary that has
to be switched between aperture and shutter. Pro cameras have separate
rotaries, which is much easier to work with.

I've always been fascinated by the way that consumer and prosumer equipment is
often harder to use than true professional equipment. Pro-grade tools usually
just work. Even when there are plenty of options, the workflow is usually
intuitive and straightforward.

Consumer gear often adds consumer crappiness - special modes for taking ski
photos or food shots in a consumer camera. if you know what you're doing, this
reliably gets in the way. And if you don't know what you're doing, you
probably won't know how to select the special "helpful" presets anyway.

I used to own one of these, which is supposed to be a beginner's keyboard:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf61mYDtt64](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf61mYDtt64)

It made some decent sounds, but it was _incredibly_ awkward to use, with a
baffling combination of hidden settings, obscure button sequences, and bizarre
features.

So personally I've always wanted the absolute best tools I can get. I get
very, very frustrated with tools that don't work properly or get in the way,
irrespective of price.

~~~
frostburg
I didn't mention autofocus because I generally use manual primes and don't
even try to shoot moving subjects, so it's not really an issue for me.

Single-dial consumer cameras are annoying, I also generally really like to
have a physical exposure comp wheel, good Sony and Fuji cameras generally have
one (and my old Contax G2 does, too), while it tends to be some bad modal
"hold the button and turn the wheel" affair on Nikon and Canon ones.

"Scene mode" dials are basically a helpful hint to let you know that you
shouldn't buy that camera.

------
edjw
It's really nice when you're learning to program that you can make something
without the fear of misusing some resource like paper or paint (other maybe
than time).

Yesterday I wanted to see if I could make a program that checks if a word is a
palindrome. Open a text editor, a terminal and a browser. Done.

~~~
andmarios
For programmers I think it is more about the tools, you may keep yourself from
spending too much on a keyboard, mouse or a new monitor, maybe a license for
your favorite ide.

For example I remember when I bought one of the early LCD monitors, using
expensive CRTs until then. The difference was huge, suddenly I could code for
10 hours straight without feeling tired at all!

On the other hand I kept away from SSDs for more than I should. Again, such a
huge productivity boost by making my computer so much responsive that
immediately I thought “why didn't I buy this 2-3 years ago”.

A more recent example, couple years ago I moved and at the first couple months
hadn't set up my home office, so I started using my laptop's keyboard and just
kept doing it. I thought it was ok until recently I switched back to an
external keyboard. My typing improved tremendously, much faster, less errors,
actually blind typing all the time now. Again, inertia didn't let me realize
what I was losing all these years.

But I also think it is important to start from lesser tools and upgrade as you
go. A novice most of the time can't really appreciate a professional tool and
as many people wrote in other comments, obsessing too much with the tools at
the start can hinder the path towards your real goal.

------
twic
I perceive this in myself to an extent. I have always thought it was about
wanting to save the best materials for some sort of magnum opus, rather than
waste them on everyday work. I don't think that's entirely irrational.

I do it with non-creative things too. I have some bottles of really nice
whisky, but i don't drink them. I'm saving them for when a whisky-appreciating
friend comes round, and we can enjoy them together. I drink the crappiest
stuff i have when i'm on my own.

~~~
Sophistifunk
Every whisk(e)y lover needs to have a go-to "scoffin' whiskey" for when you
need a drink, as well as some good stuff for when you want to revel in it,
wether alone or with a fellow aficionado (or even just friends who enjoy being
given the expensive shit). For me, my scoffin' whiskey is Grant's. Cheap and
cheerful, and easily available in 1l bottles.

------
heimidal
I’ve shelved or packed away countless notebooks over the years, usually
because I know my handwriting is terrible and my organizational skills are
crap.

------
pseingatl
Take that brand new notebook you're afraid to write in-because--for whatever
reason--maybe you want to dedicate it to a project that's not yet ready, for
example; or you don't want to spoil it: turn it upside down and to the back.
Write notes, grocery lists, whatever for a few days in the pristine notebook.
Turn it back and now you are ready to write in it.

~~~
Analemma_
I have more blank notebooks than I'm comfortable admitting (without Internet
pseudonymity)

~~~
keithpeter
Suggestion: Carry one of them around in a bag for a week or two so it gets
broken in. Might reduce the 'newness' factor. Then do as parent suggests (use
back for shopping lists)

------
bluedino
I bought a new 2011 MacBook Pro, added an SSD, maxed out the RAM and picked up
a 27" Apple Cinema Display. Someone broke in and stole it.

I replaced it with a used IBM ThinkPad T60 and the cheapest LCD monitor I
could find at Best Buy on Black Friday. I got more done on that computer than
I probably ever had, since. Learned Rails, completed tons of projects, and it
lasted me through 3 jobs. Whenever I hit a rut these days with my current MBP
I think about throwing it all out the Window and grabbing a T450 or X230 and
starting all over...

~~~
terminalcommand
I have a similar story. I had a thinkpad x201 and it broke. I opened it up,
tried to fix it, couldn't. After a couple of weeks having no computer, I
created a OpenBSD installer USB from another computer (the installer image was
surprisingly only 30 MiB, so I could easily create the USB in a couple of
minutes from someone else's computer).

I installed OpenBSD on an old Asus 1000HE netbook I had lying around. I used
the machine for a couple of weeks, and I felt I was really productive. I wrote
a simple network manager, learned Org-Mode, learned Xorg customization, read
Atlas Shrugged in Emacs :) ...

Then I built myself a desktop, installed Windows 10 on it. Got a 32 inch big
screen. I am nowhere as productive, because everything comes so easy.

There is something about spartan environments, that makes you more disciplined
and focused. On the other hand, you need comfortable tools to go further.

Another interesting point is, even when I was building my desktop, I picked
out the cheapest parts, didn't even buy a case. I put the components in two
adjacent shoe-box sized cartons, and hooked a push button to the mother board
power pins. I could've easily spent much more money on it, but didn't. I guess
I also fear making a huge commitment to the tools I use.

------
microtherion
I've definitely observed and experienced that. On the other hand, there's also
the opposite phenomenon (maybe it should be called the Titanium Driver
Paradox): that beginners buy expensive high end gear that doesn't really do
them much good at their current level: mediocre singers buy fancy microphones,
mediocre cyclists buy fancy bikes, etc.

------
btrettel
I've observed the opposite in computing more frequently. Many people seem to
care too much about appearances, when using a simpler or cheaper tool is
better overall.

My desktop computer is over 10 years old. This is hard to believe for many
people. Why don't I upgrade? The reason is that a 10 year old computer is
plenty capable for my work. I don't see much reason to upgrade now or in the
near future. The hardware is still in good condition, and until it breaks in a
way not easily repaired or my needs change, I will keep using the computer.

Another example is software. I see this dynamic among many Git users. I use
primarily SVN for version control in personal and work projects. These are
projects with no collaborators. SVN has less friction in my opinion. Many Git
users I know seem to think that because I use SVN regularly that means I am
too stupid to use Git. I'm not, and at this point I'd offer to show people who
think so my public GitHub profile as evidence now that I am contributing more
frequently to an open source project. I think many of these Git users would
find that SVN has less friction and is an overall better choice for certain
small projects if they gave it a chance. But to many, using Git is partly
about maintaining an appearance of being elite, and they don't want to look
like a newbie by using SVN.

~~~
barrkel
I used cvs, svn and git, sequentially when they were most popular. Every step
along the way was a big improvement, and the step from svn to git is a much
bigger improvement than cvs to svn.

Svn is a pile of crap. Remote operations take ages. Switching branches takes
ages. Applying the same diff to multiple branches - you're better off
extracting your own diff files and applying them manually. In fact creating
branches is such a PITA you just don't bother. Stashing work in progress -
again, create your own diff files. Svn was such a pile of crap I built my own
system to extract and restore diffs of work in progress, as well as a tool
using 3-way diffs for handling conflicts when base moved on after I needed to
restore my diff.

~~~
btrettel
Your use case differs greatly from mine, and this is what makes me prefer SVN
most of the time. I tried to make this clear in my first post, but I'll
explain in more detail.

I agree that SVN doesn't do branches right. If I needed to use branches, I'd
use Git or Mercurial. But the projects I use SVN for have no collaborators and
only one version of the files. There is no need for branching here. So the
branches argument is irrelevant. (And for what it's worth, I've heard this
argument from a half dozen people who have tried to make me switch to Git.)

"Stashing" is a Git term, and again, it doesn't really apply to my use cases
because there's only one version of the files and I'm the only one using the
repositories.

I use version control so that I can keep track of the history, roll back
changes if necessary, and keep my files synchronized across a few computers.
There's no collaboration involved.

This is where SVN is advantageous. I am not claiming that SVN is advantageous
in all cases, just the ones my small projects fit in. And for me, that's most
of the cases I use.

As for remote operations, I haven't found that to be the case. And I haven't
mentioned the SVN features I like that Git doesn't have either.

------
ouid
this behavior isn't exclusive to writers and artists. people still put screen
protectors on their phones. If you have something you can't afford to replace,
you're going to be careful with it, if you can't believe you can use it
without some risk of breaking it, you're not going to use it unless you have
to.

This is rational behavior, at least so long as the premise that there is some
risk associated to using the tool is correct.

~~~
lostgame
The difference between a screen protector and scratches buttons on a guitar’s
body is the scratches on the body do not affect the guitar’s performance
whereas a scratch on the glass of your screen could have permanently affect
the use of your phone.

~~~
robotsonic
What I find interesting is when people will point to their plastic screen
cover covered in small scratches as proof of why they need it. Generally,
those same scratches would not have been present on the actual glass screen
and are only proof that their screen protector is of inferior quality.

I'm also unsure if the order of operations is: 1) I treat my phones poorly,
thus I should get a screen cover. OR 2) I have a screen cover, so now I can
treat my phone poorly.

------
kbob
What's the solution?

I abandoned a woodworking project last month because I doubted the finished
cabinet would be worthy of the wood. So how do you move past that block?

~~~
dwaltrip
The same way you adjust to cold waters. Just jump in! Embrace the discomfort.
You'll get past it soon enough. And then reward yourself with a hot shower and
a hot cup of coffee after (metaphorically).

------
CarVac
That's, uhh, very much not the case for photography.

~~~
nerdponx
You sure about that? I always thought I never was good enough to "deserve" an
SLR, but I recently took one on a vacation and was pleasantly surprised that,
not only were my photos better, but I was also able to improve on the
automatic settings in many cases (weird lighting, etc), albeit with some trial
and error.

High quality tools tend to raise the "quality ceiling" but also tend to be
unforgiving of mistakes. Sometimes all you need is a little more confidence in
your own ability, and some room to make mistakes with the fancy new tool.

~~~
heimidal
Can definitely relate to this — though I own an SLR, I’m so afraid I’ll hurt
it that I’ve never taken it to places where I’d really enjoy getting better
shots, instead opting for my phone’s camera.

