But they sure know how to protest for social justice.
The electronic gadgets made now are not made to be repaired. They are made to ne used and thrown away.
Technology has become disposable.
Costs more to fix it than to replace it.
It didn’t occur to my kids that a Christmas tree ornament with a missing hanger could be “fixed”. They were going to throw it out. So I told them to glue in a paper clip or something and they did do it. The older girl is making progress with DIY resourcefulness and can do some maintenance on her motorcycle. I go around fixing everything all the time — much more satisfying than buying new Chinese junk.
>>Isn’t that cute. How many over-40s can repair or re-purpose electronic gadgets now? Answer: nearly none.<<
How many under-40s can do it? Answer: nearly none.
Very few components today are fixable — all are disposable.
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. It would amaze me if anyone under 40 could change a battery on a Galaxy.
There’s a minor epidemic of people calling emergency services because they’re locked in their cars and can’t get out. They don’t understand that the doors can be unlocked without the key fob remote. I don’t hold much hope for such people as far as acquiring any sort of mechanical inclination at all, let alone understanding how to repair anything. They’re getting ever more helpless outside a video game.
As a kid wasn’t very good at fixing them but I was damn good at taking them apart!
Yes, we baby-boomers don’t know a thing about this stuff! We have to call in somebody if the toilet acts up!!! How different from my father’s generation.
There are subdivisions in technology, as there are branches of science, and general knowledge of what is in each group is useful.
Likewise there is some degree of technological overlap, as there is overlap in the branches of science.
But eventually, people need to discard information that is less useful, as long as they remember that it exists.
A great example, for most people, is algebra. It can be extremely useful, if you need it, but most people seldom need to involve themselves with it in their daily lives.
“Isn’t that cute. How many over-40s can repair or re-purpose electronic gadgets now? Answer: nearly none. That’s beside the point, though. Older technologies may be more useful, more repairable and more replaceable in the near future. “
Fer sure. I did electronics and computer stuff for years. Got tired of constant change & etc. My young one of 25 years can deal with stuff now. Like replacing surface-mount components on an ailing video card using the toaster oven. But we did school him in welding and machining. And he’s my go-to gunsmith.
There must be somewhere on the web where “Hints from Heloise” can be found. The means to fixing lots of things are SO easily available today. A copuple of summers ago I fixed a bent arm on an umbrella clotheline with rebar, pvc and cable ties. Better than new! Ugly as sin.
Time to bring back “MacGyver.”
When I die this place is gonna gradually slump back to ground level, no one wants dirt under their nails, it’s now considered to indicate mental retardation. The Teletubbies run things now.
I’m 65 and can fix anything except people although I have set my own bones. Everything I need to know I learned from “Wordless Workshop” scouting and 50’s - 60’s magazines like Popular Mechanics, Science and Mechanics, Hot Rod, Field and Stream and the like.
This is stupid. Most everything that is made cannot be worked on by anyone. Cars, refrigerators all of them have computers that cannot be fixed. There are no more items for the putterer.
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.
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.
I love giving Millenials a hard time.