Fix Things, Never Force It: Lessons From Grandpa

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/06/fix-things-never-force-it-lessons-from-grandpa/276873/

by rmah • 13 years ago

110 56 13 years ago

mathattack• 13 years ago

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

mikestew3• 13 years ago

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.

X-Istence3• 13 years ago

Speaking of laying floor, I'm putting in my own wood floor (I am 25 years old), and so far all of the neighbours I have met have looked at me like I had grown a third eye in my forehead.

Yes, I am doing it myself. No, I've never done it before, but how hard can it be? I've got the Internet, and that what I can't learn online I can learn from friends or by calling family. While I already feel like my house will never be done, and I will never be quite satisfied, I am extremely happy that I get to learn all kinds of new things I wouldn't have otherwise had the opportunity to learn.

My grandpa, on both sides of the family, were always fixing things, building things, and engineering new solutions to problems. I hope that even-though I have become a software engineer I never lose touch with the physical side.

reneherse• 13 years ago

Great perspective.

When learning a new skill or craft, especially one that involves finish work, one principle I follow is to start with the most hidden areas first. Oftentimes, people will jump into a task on the most obvious, most exciting and most frequently observed areas of a job first, learning and making their beginner's mistakes front and center. Then their workmanship becomes more expert by the time they get to the least frequently seen parts of a project. So try not to fall into that trap; In the case of flooring, you want your best work to be in your living spaces, not your closets. :)

isamuel3• 13 years ago

I like your attitude, although you remind me somewhat of the title character in Jean de Florette (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091288/).

jes• 13 years ago

I'm 53, and have been doing projects since I was a young kid. Even had an oscope from a friend's amateur radio father in my bedroom as a kid.

One thing I have learned, though, is not to say "How hard could it be?"

Still, go for it...

randallsquared• 13 years ago

I think you underestimate how much of a time sink fixing the first leaky plumbing fixture can be. There are a dozen things that can go wrong, and a dozen things to think about that someone who has never done it will discover by trial and error, with each iteration requiring a trip to the hardware store. If you didn't gain such handy expertise incidentally to "helping" someone else, every such task can be a comedy of errors. The worst is if you manage to mess something up badly enough that it requires far more work and material to fix than the problem you started with.

mikestew3• 13 years ago

That's why you have a friend help. They can point out the eighteen ways it can go wrong. I mean, yeah, you could go it alone, and the internet is helpful, but it can turn out exactly like you say. I've helped friends with home projects where it turns out a trip to the hardware store is in order. More times than not I'll mention that "it looks like we'll need a whattzit and a hoozsnoggle while we're there" because the need for those items won't become evident until you come back home.

Underestimate? No, I know how awry things can go. In our first house I noticed a leak in the basement under the toilet above. Wax ring, easy fix and cheap. Except it had been leaking a while, meaning a good piece of the subfloor had rotted. Up comes the carpet (who the hell thinks carpet in a house with men is a good idea in the bathroom?), might as well put in new linoleum on top of the new sub flooring. Since the floor's coming up, there's no better time to put in that sink the wife wanted. Somewhere in the process we discovered the wet drywalling under the shower stall. To the Depot for new drywall and shower stall! Weeks later I finished the job.

All because a sixty-nine cent wax ring failed.

lotharbot2• 13 years ago

One thing that amazes me is how much "fix things" is a matter of attitude -- of being willing to try, and willing to try again after failure.

I didn't grow up watching anyone fix things. I didn't particularly enjoy shop class in sixth grade. But I've fixed a bunch of stuff in my house just by reading a couple of pages in an old fix-it book, a webpage, or the instructions that come with the replacement parts, and then trying.

sliverstorm5• 13 years ago

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.

mikestew3• 13 years ago

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.

WalterBright4• 13 years ago

It's actually quicker to replace the radiator yourself than it is to make an appointment, somehow get your car that may or may not be drivable to the shop, scrounging for a ride home, scrounging for a ride back, waiting, waiting, ...

Just remember to let your car cool off before trying to replace it. Made that mistake a couple times!

r00fus• 13 years ago

You can simplify this further: we are all hard pressed for time in the modern first-world, it's likely the most valuable thing in your life, even for kids and non-breadwinners.

I feel that the lack of free time is attributable to a large number of "ills" for society, from the lack of participation in civic duties, to lower voting rates, etc, etc.

groby_b• 13 years ago

The cycle works the other way too. I helped my dad remodel an entire three-story house, including digging foundations for an extension.

I'll be damned if I chip my nail polish on manual labor these days. Not because I'm "above it", but because I hate it with a passion. If I can pay somebody to do it for me, awesome. If they actually enjoy their work (and many contractors do), it's a win-win, as far as I can tell.

barking2• 13 years ago

It's a consequence of, first, having assembly lines and later assembly lines 'staffed' by robots. Once upon a time manufactured goods were expensive and labour was cheap. Now it's the other way around. So it's cheaper to chuck most things when they break rather than try to repair them. From a maximising p.o.v it makes sense, at least until such time as there are robots that will do housecalls

WalterBright4• 13 years ago

My washing machine broke and I fixed it in 10 minutes with a $3 part ordered from Amazon. There was even a video on youtube showing how to do the repair.

It doesn't always work out this well. The heating element in my dryer broke. A new element would cost almost as much as a new dryer, so I got a new dryer.

grecy• 13 years ago

Not so long ago, one member of a family would work a 35 hour week, while the other would stay at home, doing chores or looking after the kids. Money was not abundant, but time was, so people would often repair their own stuff out of necessity.

These days it's common for both members of a family work 50 or 60 or 70 hours a week, making them extremely time-poor. With such limited free time, they choose not to spend it getting their hands dirty doing manual labor, and instead just pay to have it done.

(For the record, I'm 31 and thoroughly enjoy doing as much stuff myself as I possibly can. Last week I put a new alternator, starter and rear brake shoes in my older car for about 1/10th the price I was quoted, and it took me about 3 hours on a sunny Thursday evening after work. I can't wait to once again take a long hiatus from work so I'm not as time-poor as I am now)

EDIT: for anyone that wants to work on their own car, checkout the prices on http://rockauto.com - it's insanely cheap and they ship worldwide. I have no affiliation, other than being a satisfied customer.

rgbrenner• 13 years ago

Here's a chart of average hours worked per employed person in the US from 1970 to 2011: http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/USAAHWEP

Please point to the part of the graph that backs up your claim that people in the past worked substantially fewer hours, and that people today work substantially more.

Don't forget to divide the numbers by 52 for the weekly number of hours worked.

abstractbill• 13 years ago

My wife and I bought a fixer-upper house last year, and I've been really enjoying working on it. But I always keep in mind that kind of work is more of a hobby than a financially savvy thing to do, since I can hire someone else to work on the house at less than 1/4 of my software consulting rate!

lsc• 13 years ago

huh. so my circle of friends is a little different; Many of them could make garage door opener; heck, many of them could make a garage door opener that was far more secure than your average house lock. Of course, I live in a fairly urban area, and almost none of these people have an actual garage to open.

How much actual work gets done? that usually depends on the personal employment situation. Both, "do I have enough work" and "how hard is the boss pressuring me to work more" - from what I've seen it's more about how much free time is available than any calculation of how much they get paid per hour. (I mean, I usually do the "how much could I be making during this hour" calculation, but I'm a /lot/ more comfortable hiring people than most of my friends.)

If anything, I think the bias is too much towards 'I will do it myself' where I am, I've seen solder/heatshrink repairs on products that literally cost $5. I mean, done by fully-employed folks. I've got prime, I'll order you another.

Considering how many of these folks are introverts, I think there is a huge untapped market for someone to buy one of those self-storage places and add outlets. Especially if it was open 24/7? man, that would be really popular with my crowd. The problem with hackerspaces is that first, they are social (which is good for other things, but not for introvert work space) and second, that you generally have little to no storage space, and certainly can't leave your project on the workbench while you have a busy week at work.

On the subject of Grandpa fixing things, my favorite grandpa quote is "Always test a wire like this" (holds hand with palm inwards, two fingers out) "and never like this" (pretends to grab wire with both left and right hands outstretched)

temp453463343• 13 years ago

I work an hourly programming job (not exactly the norm). I can either spend X amount of hours laminating my floor, or spend those X hours working and making money. Then I can spend a fraction of that to pay a skilled laborer to do it for me.

While not everyone has a job that's hourly, people still have a strong sense of their time's worth. Maybe working extra doesn't directly translate to X dollars at the end of the month, but it may mean you can negotiate a larger raise, or a bonus.

__--__• 13 years ago

IMHO, this is part of basic parenting. When I was growing up, my parents went out of their way to make sure I could be self sufficient. They called them "chores." I learned to cook, clean, do laundry and do basic house maintenance (plumbing, sheetrock, scraping and painting). At the time, I hated every minute of it and didn't see why I would bother with any of this stuff. Now, I like that I know how to take apart a sink, replace the seals and stop the $@#$* thing from dripping. I can do it now instead of waiting days or weeks for a repairman.

Then again, I grew up in a traditional family from a rural area. Self sufficiency was highly valued there. Specialization tends to be more highly valued in urban/suburban areas.

xiaoma• 13 years ago

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.

jaysonelliot2• 13 years ago

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.

sliverstorm5• 13 years ago

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

jaysonelliot2• 13 years ago

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?"

breck• 13 years ago

I second that, should have started with the plug up top. Nevertheless, I loved the article and ifixit looks neat.

pdog2• 13 years ago

This article would have been a lot better without those last few paragraphs.

snarkyturtle• 13 years ago

I don't see it as a plug but more of a validation. His grandpa raised him the right way and taught him the value of hard work, perseverance and dedication. Those are things that you need in the startup industry and yielded success in his grandchildren's work. Ifixit is already well known, so it stands to be an example rather than cheap marketing.

isamuel3• 13 years ago

I liked it. I was in fact not aware of the driving idea behind iFixit, and I was inspired to check it out after hearing about this guy's values and where they came from.

dbeardsl• 13 years ago

Is a plug really that offensive when the thing that's being plugged is a 100% community commons licensed repository of repair manuals and is described as exactly that?

pdog2• 13 years ago

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...

spacecadet• 13 years ago

I thought wisdom came with age? I would not on their death bed would not claim to be wise.. I have worked for young and old and they all make the same mistakes.

eclipxe• 13 years ago

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...

peatmoss• 13 years ago

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• 13 years ago

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.

tsmith• 13 years ago

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

Sometimes you've gotta force it...

Fix Things, Never Force It: Lessons From Grandpa

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