Shop class as soulcraft
an inquiry into the value of work
by Matthew B. Crawford · first published 2009
78% recommend19% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Philosopher-turned-motorcycle-mechanic contrasts manual trades with knowledge work and questions the fulfillment of desk jobs. Suits engineers and makers weighing careers that involve working with their hands.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
In this wise and often funny book, a philosopher/mechanic systematically destroys the pretensions of the high-prestige workplace and makes an irresistible case for working with one’s handsShop Class as Soulcraft brings alive an experience that was once quite ordinary, but now seems to be receding over the cultural horizon—the experience of making and fixing things. Working with your hands, as Mathew B. Crawford describes it, connects us to the world around us. Those of us who sit in an office often have intuitions of something gone amiss, a sense of unreality accompanied by feelings of impoten
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I'm 55 now and I'm working on a side gig that's 'skillful manual labor' and I get a lot of satisfaction from the work and from becoming (let's hope) one of the best in the world at the thing. cf, "Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work" by M. Crawford
on ““The smartest engineers I know are burned out and starting vegetable gardens”” ↗I highly recommend Matthew Crawford's Shop Class as Soulcraft, which includes a discussion of how kids are railroaded into college even though it makes no sense for everyone to go. The destruction of vocational schools is a real problem here. And in a world where…
on “Student Loan Debt Is Now as Big as the U.S. Junk Bond Market” ↗Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew Crawford. I've often questioned if spending 8+ hours a day writing software was the right thing for me to do, when I get so much more gratification from…
on “Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?” ↗I've been a Matthew Crawford fan since reading Shop Class as Soulcraft back in 2010. It completely changed the way I viewed my work and my career.
on “Distraction is a kind of obesity of the mind” ↗This makes me think strongly of Matthew B. Crawford's books ("The World Beyond Your Head", "Shop Class as Soulcraft"). He focuses directly on difficult techniques like this, things that require both intellectual focus and physical technique to master - craftsmanship. He believes that this is the finest work we can…
on “Italy’s rarest pasta” ↗For those who enjoyed "ZenATAOMM", I found another in a similar vein: "Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work" "...author Matthew B. Crawford questions the educational imperative of turning everyone into a "knowledge worker," based on a misguided separation of thinking from…
on “Robert M. Pirsig has died” ↗It's not "self help", but anything by Alan Watts will help you think of "self" in a very different way. And again, not self-help, but I love recommending Shop Class as Soulcraft, by Matthew B Crawford, for reconsidering your relationship with work and finding joy in your career. The full book is worth reading, but this essay link gets the gist of it. https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/shop-class-as-so...
on “Improving Ourselves to Death” ↗…If the code doesn't work, the problem is almost certainly between the keyboard and the chair. As such, it's very rewarding when we get it right. We're displaying mastery over our environment. The book Shop Class as Soulcraft, by Matthew B. Crawford, goes into this extensively. He's talking about more physical labor, but I find the substance applies to software as well. (And although I love the book, you can save a lot of…
on “People are “consistently inconsistent” in reasoning about controversial topics” ↗Effortless Mastery, by Kenny Werner. The Music Lesson, by Victor Wooten. Both of these are about music, but are really about mastery. Shop Class as Soulcraft, by Matthew B. Crawford. This is a much more philosophical/academic argument that skilled manual labor is both intellectually and morally superior to most office work - you're shaping reality, rather…
on “Ask HN: How to learn best practices when you have no one to teach you?” ↗And Ford's wage increase has been famously and misleadingly mythologized as a favor he did to his employees so they could afford to buy his cars. Matthew Crawford's takedown of this bullshit in Shop Class as Soulcraft is delicious.
on “The key to loving your job in the age of burnout” ↗I wish I could edit my comment, but it looks like HN takes away the ability after some time. What I wanted to do was to recommend everybody read two books: "Shop Class as Soulcraft" (cheesy title, I know) and "The World Beyond Your Head." Both books are my Matthew Crawford, a "knowledge worker" turned mechanic / author in Virginia. He writes wonderfully about this whole idea of…
on “How we pay attention changes the shape of our brains” ↗> "Shop Class as Soulcraft" (cheesy title, I know) and "The World Beyond Your Head." Both very appropriate books for Big Hat Logan to suggest, though isn't the point of the hat to drown out the world beyond your head? > I wish…
on “How we pay attention changes the shape of our brains” ↗You lost me when I saw the attempt with a formula. There is no formula and it's pretentious to think you can distill the variables. Try this book: Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford "A philosopher/mechanic's wise (and sometimes funny) look at the challenges and pleasures of working with one's hands Called "the sleeper hit…
on “What does happiness at work mean?” ↗…rather than sitting at a desk, then do it that way. Listen to an audio version of a report instead of reading it, do meetings while walking, etc. Finally I’d also recommend a book related to this topic: Shop Class as Soulcraft, which is about a philosopher that became a motorcycle mechanic, and I believe later became a philosopher again.
on “Ask HN: Has anyone switched from a professional job to a (more) manual one?” ↗Interesting/Recommended: The Snowball, Alice Schroeder Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts The Art of Happiness, HH Dalai Lama Getting Things Done (I know I'm late to the party...) Shop Class as Soulcraft, Matthew Crawford (I heard about that one here, thank-you HN) On Writing, Stephen King
on “Ask HN: Great books you read in 2009?” ↗