Young people are 'lost generation' who can no longer fix gadgets, warns professor

The Telegraph ^ | 28DEC14 | Sarah Knapton

[familyop]

Danielle George, Professor of Radio Frequency Engineering, at the University of Manchester, claims that the under 40s expect everything to ‘just work’ and have no idea what to do when things go wrong...This year’s Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are entitled ‘Sparks will fly: How to hack your home’ she is hoping it will inspire people to think what else they can do with common household objects...Ideas include using a magnifying glass and shoe box to turn a mobile phone into a rudimentary projector; how to use tin foil to make too small batteries fit correctly and how to turn a bottle of water into a lamp.

[miss marmelstein]

Good for you! I would still be standing there scratching my head.

[Farmer Dean]

So easy a caveman could do it.

[ExCTCitizen]

A general contractor and me were discussing this. People aren’t building things like tree houses (of course, it could be HOA rules against tree houses.). His grandson (11) is a rarity, he loves helping on construction.

[Chickensoup]

We bought a car and it had problems with shifting and my then husband bought a stick shift and installed it in the driveway (it had been a column shift) and we had a working car. He was no mechanical genius.

[MHGinTN]

It used to be that the Norinco copy of the 1911 .45 was as good as the Colt production during the Korean War. Those particular Norinco products are so sturdy that they are popular for converting to the heavier bullet and powder cartridges. (Rowland model?).

[pabianice]

Massachusetts just un-regulated licensed TV and radio technicians. Until November, 2014, you couldn’t operate a TV repair business without a master’s license.

[KC_Conspirator]

I love giving Millenials a hard time.

[Little Bill]

I am a boomer, I started rebuilding Cars and then moved to computers and Now Cabinets.

My son can rebuild any Vehicle from a go-cart to a D9 Cat, must be a genetic transfer from his GGrandfather. Has trouble driving a nail though.

My father was a jock in College, MBA, during the Depression, had problems with mechanical stuff.

[Rome2000]

Even in NYC in the 70’s I had my chemistry sets with test tubes and bunsen burners, did lots of electrical experiments too.

One involved a dry cell, microphone, and speaker to set up a simple intercom system.

Got tired of the dry cell wearing out so decided to cut off a lamp cord , strip off the ends and wire that bad boy in.

The explosion and blue flash were spectacular, also didn’t know I could do a double backwards roll.

I was seven, this is what we did instead of video games.

[chrisser]

I’m 47. I fix just about everything, on principle.

I could afford to pay someone now, but I know what it’s like not to have that luxury, and I’m unwilling to let those skills atrophy in case I need them in the future. I’d rather spend the money on the tools necessary to do it the first time and then become more accomplished at it the succeeding times.

And the way things are going, I have a feeling those skills (and the tools to accompany them) are going to be life preserving.

It does take time. I consider it a useful hobby, and an ongoing challenge now. Then again, I don’t spend my spare time gaming, watching crap from Hollywood, or being glued to the tube all weekend watching sports.

My wife is an accomplished gardener and cook, so between the two of us, there isn’t much we can’t do.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“As a kid wasn’t very good at fixing them but I was damn good at taking them apart!”

Me too! I took everything apart. Got in trouble when I took my Grandfather’s gold pocket watch apart though. Most thins I got back together, but not that!
Yet we are surrounded by things not electronic that still need repairs. Things like toilets, actually all sorts of plumbing, lots of common household items.

[dfwgator]

Hard to believe we're only a generation removed from when Tim Allen was the biggest stand-up comedian out there....

"It wasn't getting enough power.....so I rewired it...."

[Rome2000]

Milled still looks badass though.

[ExCTCitizen]

Mechanic Illustrated was my magazine of choice...Miss MI was always the first thing I looked at...

[Two Kids' Dad]

Not mine, but I figured I'd share because of your post...

[MHGinTN]

Really? ... The door latch on my electric dryer snapped off, so I went to the Internet, found a guy fixing the excat same Roper dryer, then bought the part and installed it myself. I also swapped out a heating element for another dryer. Many of the parts on these ‘unfixable machines’ are modular, so the things can be assembled bu dummies. Replacing the part is a matter of discovering how the thing was assembled and purchasing the replacement part.

[tioga]

Google it. Find a you tube vid. Repair it yourself.

[Chickensoup]

Well so far I have known about 6 people including me who have junked great cars because the computer replacement parts cost way more than the car was worth.

[Two Kids' Dad]

Back in the day a friend of mine bought a Dodge Dart for a song because it needed a new transmission. Prior to replacing the transmission he changed out the fluid. very little came out and it was filthy. the fresh stuff went in and the transmission worked just fine for the entire time he owned it.

[familyop]

"Very few components today are fixable — all are disposable."

You're referring to computers? Most computers only waste the time of many human beings, although a few of the more technically inclined young people can gather technical information and store it for long term use or use a computer as a control component to get a production run out only a little quicker.

There are components for other, much more useful things, like home built heavy equipment. By the way, with some research and minor tools for electrical work, computers on some of the slightly older vehicles can be replaced with more solid components.

"But I am willing to wager hard dollars more over 40s can build a PC from scratch (myself included) than the Playstation generation and younger."

With whole peripherals, like cases with power supplies, mainboards and drives?

"It would amaze me if anyone under 40 could change a battery on a Galaxy."

"Change a battery" in an old Ford? That's useful, but a good welder, for example, can be made at home with cheap components, if the supply of imported junk dries up due to, for example, repudiation of debt.