You can find plenty pros that obsess over tools. Like look at Adam Savage's Tested youtube channel, in which he makes videos surrounded by a vast mountain of tools, many of which he made or customized himself. Recently he geeked all over the fractal vise.
The difference I'd say is that pros have a better understanding of what they need, don't expect tools to magically solve problems, and often customize or even make something from scratch.
> I'd argue that a pro does spend time obsessing over tools, but is differentiated from an amateur by knowing when to stop.
Well put. A more general statement (but less catchy) would be that “pros” navigate the search space more efficiently when evaluating tools.
I’ve noticed with myself that I prefer fewer tools now, and value maturity a lot more. When I was younger, I thought tool makers were near-perfect, and the few imperfections would have no impact on lowly me. Then I realized that tool makers are just regular people and that their tools are often poorly made, or too blunt, or too specific.
Now I know tools come with pain, so “looks nice” or “cool” is no longer good enough. Instead, the tool needs to be more useful than the pain it causes.
I've seen many a 'pro' not only obsess about tools, but be borderline religiously fanatic about one to the point of not being able to function if they were forced to use an alternative.
> We obsess over these tools, treating them like a crush—a fleeting infatuation that momentarily captivates our attention. All of this is wasted effort and delusion.
Amateurs obsess over forcing binary choices. Pros over integrating the best of what is available into the continued mastery of their trade (I actually really dislike this kind of generalization/framing, so my tongue is planted firmly in cheek here).
I think there is some truth in the general message of the post, and agree that complete fixation on tooling is a sign of a lack of focus on what matters.
But I'm curious how the author believes the "tried and true" gained that designation, if not by trying things that don't work and returning to the things that consistently do.
There's a different failure mode involved in a complete dedication to sticking to the tried & true: blindness to the moments when real step changes occur resulting in something that is truly better than what came before.
I'd argue that a pro does spend time obsessing over tools, but is differentiated from an amateur by knowing when to stop. I'd also argue that framing these behaviors as things characteristic of "amateurs" and "pros" is not useful.
Why wouldn't they complain? Because it's unprofessional? Nonsense. If a tool isn't up to it's designed task (especially if it used to be),complaining is certainly in order.
FTFY: "I don't understand why those who spend most of their time __using tools__ focus so much on the tools they use to do it."
It should be more self-evident now.
When there are many tools which meet the minimum requirements for doing a job, then the focus becomes not on which tool can do the job, but which tool you feel does the job the best (or you enjoy using). Carpenters argue about the best saws/drills, artists argue about the best brushes/paints, musicians argue about the best instrument maker.
You're right, customers don't care about what tool was used to build something, but they care that you can do your job well and good tools help you do that.
This reminds me of an observation I’ve had: online when you see an expert tradesperson do something, they’ve got all kinds of specialized tools. Because they do the same kinds of things a lot and so those tools are worth buying and learning. But if you handed me those tools to do a job just once, I’d be much worse off than sticking to what’s in my workshop.
In the end we both have a finished project. But the professional would be a fool not to specialize their kit and I would be a fool if I did.
The tools that you use in your profession are a way to express yourself. That's true for guitarists who customise their guitars, truck drivers who customise their truck, tennis players with custom rackets and woodworkers with unique tools that often take countless of hours to make.
What they all have in common is that this level of customisation looks silly to the outside. Of course they could be 98% as good with something they bought off a quality store, but what they do is part of who they are and there arguably is a deeper satisfaction in that then going around hitting on hot dudes on holiday trips.
This is so true. And that also defines "pro" tools, those tend to be the best money making devices, and not the technically best devices. They speed up work, maybe hold longer, or are a tad more ergonomically. Because all of that matters if tools are being used for hours every day to earn a living.
In the end, it is the end product that matters. And that is influenced a lot more by the person and ingeredients / raw materials then it is by the tools being used.
Some people are into creating things, and other people are into tools. As the saying goes, it's a poor craftsperson that blames their tools. But I also think it's a poor craftsperson who tries to improve by improving their tools.
I see it a lot with photography. Some talented photographers pull incredible images out of older digital cameras and lenses, and don't bother to get new cameras/lenses because the reality is that a new camera wouldn't make their images much better.
Other photographers lack that kind of creative skill but still spend their time buying better and better gear, talking about gear online, and taking pictures of test charts—all without improving their skill.
This analogy is exact. At the beginning levels people argue about power tools versus hand tools; shooting board vs. chopsaw, japanese plane vs. iron. Professionals have their tools that work, are interested in new tools insofar as they can improve results or productivity, but don't engage in recreational arguments.
Masters of the craft have no dogma about tools and are always exploring, but also have strong opinions. They will rarely broach the topic but if someone is interested will talk for hours about their favourite tools. Their emphasis is on how the various tools change the process of work, not on how they change the work itself - the piece will be what they want it to be regardless of the tool. It's the worker-tool interface that's important at this level.
>Wherever tools are used there are tools made of shit.
I find it's super easy to shit on tools. That doesn't mean another tool is better / will have a better outcome. Most of the tool talk is very focused on a few problems that I am not so sure actually point to the outcome of using it.
Tool users with any sophistication almost always need to make modifications or repairs to their tools. Buying tools that make that impossible seems foolhardy to me. That you don't see things this way is interesting to me. Some people are happy eating the slop that's served to them with no interest in even seasoning it themselves. Strange to me, but to each his own.
I was curious enough to look it up, apparently it's the fallacy of "I can't properly start until I have <tool X>". In that sense I think it's not at all a problem among professionals, but perhaps an easy stumbling block that discourages a lot of amateurs (the study I heard about was actual trades, where going from amateur to professional is less of a hurdle than among creative pursuits).
I might say, "A journeyman makes his tools do the job, a master invests in his tools".
You don't have to do anything. I think there are more people in the world that like to use tools for the sake of using tools that it would give one the impression that all of this tooling is a necessity. It's not.
You can find plenty pros that obsess over tools. Like look at Adam Savage's Tested youtube channel, in which he makes videos surrounded by a vast mountain of tools, many of which he made or customized himself. Recently he geeked all over the fractal vise.
The difference I'd say is that pros have a better understanding of what they need, don't expect tools to magically solve problems, and often customize or even make something from scratch.
reply