I meant to post this on Labor Day, but life intervened.
Sara sent me this article from The New Atlantis: Shop Class as Soulcraft. Although written in journalese, there's a lot of meat in there on the different ways that craftsmen and consumers see the world as well as on the social networks at the heart of crafstmanship.
The point that really struck home with me, however, was Crawford's emphasis on the cognitive demands of craft. Although my acquaintance with wood- or metalworking is only the presumptive over-familiarity of a hobbyist, I have been amazed by how linear the learning curve is. Every time I begin a new step on my rifle project, I have to learn a new skill, a new tool, or even build a tool to suit.
At any rate, read the essay.
Posted by Ben Brumfield at November 4, 2006 05:45 AM