Kathryn & Stuart Fields on thu 5 feb 04
Sounds like the comparison of personality types depicted in "Zen and the Art
of Motorcycle Maintenance", the Classicist and the Romanticist. One
understood and cared about his bike; the other just wanted to be a user.
Personally, I think we're lucky to live in an age where we may choose in
which fields we operate as one, and in which operate as the other. My
partner builds, makes, designs, fixes, maintains, envisions and dreams about
all things rotary wing aviation; when it comes to the computer he is a user
only and you ought not to see him in the kitchen.
In '69, at Woodstock, I overheard a youngster talk about how his folks
hadn't believed he could survive on his own and he felt he had done just
that, over the miraculous weekend. Being young, we forgot to notice that
without the technology and infrastructure and the freedoms of the US,
Yazgur's farm wouldn't have just been a disaster, it never would have
happened; without the emergency water trucks, without the Huey's airlifting,
more than the 3 or 4 would have died and possibly several of the new borns
would not have survived. However, because of the super vision and
do-it-yourself attitude of so many of the insiders, the interaction of both
mind sets, the techno and the individualist worked to carry off this
impossible event.
Specialization is critical when it comes to exceedingly complex, difficult
activities--developing the mechanism to allow a worldwide community of
non-tech rats to continually communicate for nearly no $$$; landing on Mars
in the correct driveway.
And yes, specialists are quite vulnerable to societal disruptions. That's
why us generalists will always be able to earn a living, and yes, survive if
the balloon ever does go up.
Kathy Fields, Inyokern, CA
www.vkss.com
-----Original Message-----
From: John Rodgers [mailto:jh_rodgers@BELLSOUTH.NET]
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 2:13 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: hamada/leech tradition
mel jacobson wrote:
> remember, tradition does not last forever.
>
> had a young potter tell me a few months ago...`hey, you use `old time
> glazes`, i buy
> mine in jars.` whatever.
As society become more and more specialized, we are losing the ability
to keep ourselves independentaly functional. Few people can feed
themselves anymore. They would starve to death before they figured out
what it took to get through a year of food production and storage. I've
friends who only know how to operate their car. If it breaks down, they
cannot fix it. Not even the simplest of things. One person I know had a
broken door knob and had not a clue how to fix it. Cost $50 (minimum 2
hour charge) for labor plus the price of a new door knob - about $14.95.
With a screw driver, a pocket knife and a pair of pliers - very common
tools - the person could have saved $50 for a rainy day. It goes on and on.
I like knowing how to do things. It's my security. I know how to rebuild
my vehicle from front to back, if need be. I can tune it up and keep it
running. I keep all my shop equipment running. I make stuff. Not just
pots. I can build houses. I know how to plow and to plant and to grow
things. I know how to process those things I grow. I know how to work
with my hands and use tools. It is becoming a lost art. And it makes
people vulnerable to unforseen events.
Regards,
John Rodgers
Chelsea, AL
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