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Date:         Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:28:50 -0230
Reply-To:     Joy Hecht <hecht.joy@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joy Hecht <hecht.joy@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Are Today's Young People Mechanical Nitwits?
In-Reply-To:  <304161.5396.qm@web51408.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

This discussion is all very interesting.

But there's a simpler explanation to the phenomena observed. Specialization of labor. If no one specializes, everyone knows how to do everything that needs to be done. Society is MUCH simpler. Standard of living is much lower. No doctors or medical care, after all, no one to figure out how to solve complex health problems. Nothing to eat except what you can find or grow within a walking distance from your home. And everyone spends all their time finding or growing food, basically. Lots of people starve whenever there is a drought or a flood or anything else - after all, no one to specialize in transportation, and no way to buy food grown elsewhere.

Young people today could fix their own cars if they wanted to, just as I could. (I'm not young.) Most people don't want to. They would rather be good at something else, and pay those who specialize in fixing cars to do that when they need those services. Just as most of us pay people to grow our food, create the internet that we use to talk to each other, build our vanagons (back when they built 'em), and so on.

That's okay, IMHO. Not a matter for scorn or lamenting about the "good old days."

Joy

On Fri, Aug 15, 2008 at 10:54 AM, Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@yahoo.com>wrote:

> But for the engine conversion this sounds eerily like myself. > > Stephen > > > --- On Thu, 8/14/08, neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM> wrote: > > > From: neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM> > > Subject: Re: Are Today's Young People Mechanical Nitwits? > > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM > > Date: Thursday, August 14, 2008, 7:28 PM > > Learning how to get things done yourself. For sure. --- :^) > > > > I'm sure part of my Dad's master plan, was to see > > how well I did > > removing that engine, replacing the broken "hockey > > stick" in the > > tranny and "rebuilding" that 36 HP engine. He did > > buy it after all, > > and he paid for parts for the first while. A totally decent > > thing to > > do I must say. I digress.... > > > > I did learn the value of sticking with something (well most > > things > > anyway) and that one should be able to rely on themselves > > to do > > things. Working on this Beetle did teach me some valuable > > lessons. > > > > I can put take apart and put together a computer tower, I > > cook ok, I > > can't sew worth a darn, but I can fix my dryer, washer, > > or stove (the > > "old school" ones anyway), do some aspects of > > renovating, etc. > > > > And I too got yelled at (for good reason) about related > > things. > > > > "Put the tools back!" and what not. > > > > I still have a cluttered bench.... --- ;^) > > > > But This all paid off. Now I have a running engine > > conversion in my Westy! > > > > Cheers, > > > > Neil. > > > > On Thu, Aug 14, 2008 at 10:57 AM, Aristotle Sagan > > <killer.jupiter@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Well, yes... > > > > > > Spend half as much money and twice as much time as you > > think is right on > > > your kids. > > > > > > My Dad (MHRIP) had me out there on cold February > > nights explaining how to > > > rebuild a carb on a 65 Rambler, how the transmission > > rods worked on a 63 > > > Pontiac Tempest (and why torque tubes are a bad design > > on a 68 International > > > Travellal). How to rebuild brakes and bleed them, etc. > > etc. Yep, I got > > > yelled at occasionally when showing initiative (Where > > the HELL did you put > > > those lug nuts?!) He gave me presents like a wood > > lathe at the age of 12, a > > > drill press at the age of 13, and a band sander at 14. > > At 17 I got my first > > > set of Craftsman tools (He was tired of me losing his) > > and the promise that > > > if I fixed the brakes and transmission issues on said > > Tempest, I could have > > > it. Fixed the transmission, never got around to the > > brakes ( I couldn't > > > afford the insurance to get it on the road). > > > > > > The one thing he taught me carried over to all aspects > > of life... Don't > > > expect others to do your life's chores for you. > > Not your sisters, not your > > > girlfriends, not your wife, not the guy down at the > > service station. > > > > > > Hence I cook, I clean, I built my own computers, I > > program, I have rebuilt > > > the gas tank system on an 83 Vanagon, troubleshoot > > robotic systems, I make > > > my own quilts, I have a woodshop most of you would > > love to own. I have > > > replaced the engine in an 84 vanagon, rebuilt the > > bottom end of an 81 > > > Scirroco, rebuilt the head on a 78 Celica GT (Now that > > was a nice car). I > > > have a darkroom where I can process and develop up to > > 8x10 negatives, > > > enlarge up to 4x5 black and white (just not interested > > in color) and.. I > > > don't watch TV. Neither do my kids except for > > movies that we monitor. Still > > > haven't gotten them to change the oil in the > > family car yet... > > > > > > Anyhow, > > > > > > Thanks Dad. > > > > > > tim in san jose > > > > > > >

-- ******************************************************************* Dr. Joy E. Hecht Consultant on Environmental Policy and Information

Email: jhecht@alum.mit.edu Phone: 1-202-494-1162 URL: http://www.joyhecht.net

*******************************************************************


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