The Craftsman
by Richard Sennett · first published 2008
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Sociological look at skilled work, covering the history of craft, guilds and how apprentices were trained, with links back to modern software making; suits engineers thinking about craftsmanship and quality.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Why do people work hard, and take pride in what they do? This book, a philosophically-minded enquiry into practical activity of many different kinds past and present, is about what happens when people try to do a good job. It asks us to think about the true meaning of skill in the 'skills society' and argues that pure competition is a poor way to achieve quality work. Sennett suggests, instead, that there is a craftsman in every human being, which can sometimes be enormously motivating and inspiring - and can also in other circumstances make individuals obsessive and frustrated.The Craftsman s
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If you want a more sociological take on this, read "The Craftsman" by Richard Sennett.
on “Steps to Turn Off the Nagging Self-Doubt in Your Head” ↗…by David Gelernter. (The latter arguably counts as a technology book, since it's supposed to be about AI, but it's more to do with psychology and literature.) More recent sorta/kinda philosophy: "The Craftsman" by Richard Sennett; "From Novice to Expert: excellence and power in clinical nursing practice" by Patricia Benner; "The Craft of Thought: meditation, rhetoric, and the making of images, 400-1200" by…
on “Ask HN: What is the most influential not-technology book(s) you have ever read?” ↗…think the craft process can work both in the digital and material domains. The key is individual responsibility for a piece of work, and feedback from the materials. Another book for your list... The Craftsman by Richard Sennett (Sociology professor, musician and sometime Linux user).
on “Matthew Crawford and How to Survive Brain-Eating Distractions” ↗I've been doing a lot of reading about craftsmanship and making things lately, and developing software for about 15 years now. I've found the following books and links to be really well-written and deeply considered covering craftsmanship, skilled…
on “Knolling” ↗Richard Sennett's excellent book "The Craftsman" has a lot about the history of guilds and the training they gave, as well as relating it back to software. Well worth a read.
on “Will Work for Food and Lodging” ↗I recommend Richard Sennett's book The Craftsman, which talks about both the history of craft and software.
on “The Case for Slow Programming” ↗…never completed, a gauge unchecked or a socket put in the wrong size. Chabuduo is the corrosive opposite of the impulse towards craftmanship, the desire, as the sociologist Richard Sennett writes in The Craftsman (2008), ‘to reject muddling through, to reject the job just good enough’. Chabuduo implies that to put any more time or effort into a piece of work would be the act of a fool. China is the land of the…
on “The Chinese were solving 14th degree polynomials in 1303. Why?” ↗