Nate at Fading Words mentions a recent Harper's Article and wonders, "at some point, if EVERYONE is a knowledge worker and NO ONE actually makes anything... where are we at?"
Great question! I'd love to toss it around. On a very simple plane, isn't there something human about finding/taking pride in a creation? And is just me, or do actual, physical creations hold a certain value over creations "in our head" or even digital creations?
I've personally felt this from time to time. I've had jobs (still do) where I can think/dream up ideas, plans, and modes of storytelling, etc.., but when it comes to physically creating something to be part of that idea or plan, I'm completely dependant on someone who can actually do something from the work of their hands! Sounds dramatic, but it's close to the truth. While I've enjoyed the reliance on a community to pull something off (recently heard Jonathan Demme, Director of Rachel Getting Married describe the innovative way the film came together - new types of collaboration in film - called it something close to "collective invention" - interesting!), I still feel like I'm missing out on the intangible value of crafting and making the thing (any thing) on my own.
That's a tangent, but a piece of knowledge work vs. craft work. Thoughts?
"a piece of knowledge work vs. craft work"
i think we need both. sometimes that answer isn't satisfying, but in this case i'm unable to come up with anything else.
i can appreciate seeing the great works of art from the renaissance in person. for instance, the cathedral in cologne, germany is WAY bigger than i pictured.
i can also appreciate that on a journey to go visit the cathedral, i may not have to stand in lines as long as they used to be at the airport because the airlines are moving more towards self-check-in kiosks.
however, when those self-check-in kiosks become what-the-heck kiosks and make no sense (happened to me in NYC last week), the real life person trumps even them.
i'm blown away by things that people create with their hands, constantly. my uncle created a wooden teardrop trailer that his honda accord could pull. awesome. but i think he probably had a lot of help doing that researching on the internet, communicating with friends electronically...etc.
having said all that, i do think that currently there is some sort of financial incentive for abandoning the manual crafts in favor of knowledge work. i'm not sure how to redress that. thoughts?
Posted by: Nate | April 06, 2009 at 10:34 PM