Craft
Physical making requires solving problems that software doesn’t have. Materials have grain, tolerance, and memory. A cut can’t be undone. The feedback loop runs through the hands.
The constraint of physicality forces precision. A joint that’s off by 1mm won’t close. A weld that’s too cold won’t hold. The work demands attention in a way that typing doesn’t.
Tools extend capability but require investment. Learning a new tool takes hours before it saves minutes. The payoff comes later, compounded across projects. A well-equipped shop is accumulated leverage.
The Japanese distinguish shokunin — the artisan who dedicates a lifetime to one craft. Not because variety is bad, but because depth requires time. The sushi master who apprenticed for ten years before touching fish. The blacksmith who forged the same blade for decades before achieving hamon, the temper line.
What changes with time: you learn the material’s constraints. The wood splits along the grain — fight that and you get splinters. The clay collapses past a certain thickness — thin walls require slow drying. The expert knows where the material will cooperate and where it will resist. That knowledge only comes from repetition.
Go Deeper
Books
- Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew B. Crawford — Philosopher-mechanic argues for the cognitive value of manual work. Provocative.
- The Craftsman by Richard Sennett — Sociologist on craft, skill, and what it means to do work well.
- Making by Tim Ingold — Anthropologist connects craft to materials, embodied knowledge, and the process of making.
- The Nature and Art of Workmanship by David Pye — The distinction between the workmanship of risk and the workmanship of certainty. Dense but foundational.
Films
- Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011) — 85-year-old sushi master. Ten years to learn rice. The documentary about shokunin.
Related: tools, tacit knowledge, sharpening, apprenticeship, deliberate practice