3 ms·

So true. I recently helped a friend build a little bit of a backyard carpentry project and I was struck by the fact that I got the same creative satisfaction fr

So true. I recently helped a friend build a little bit of a backyard carpentry project and I was struck by the fact that I got the same creative satisfaction from building little pieces of software. With one big difference: that 2-day carpentry project cost around $1000 in materials. People wanting to create these kinds of things have to pay a big price. Whereas with code (and lots of free-tier cloud services etc) I can bang out endless ideas and useful projects for free.

moistly 5y ago
The other big difference is that you generally can’t make mistakes in woodworking. Made a mistake in your code? No problem, you fix the bug. But not in woodworking. Cut a piece too short? You’re hooped. Drilled a hole in the wrong place? You’re hooped. Misalignment during glue-up? Hooped. Woodworking scratches many of the same itches as programming for me, with one key difference: it’s unforgiving of mistakes, so requires a lot more care.
- lazide 5y ago
  Just wait until it’s machining! Wood working at least most of the time tolerances are +- 1/8”. Throwing away a thousand dollar part because you were .003” off is lame. At least if you have a grinder, welding can sometimes be more forgiving.
  - lkois 5y ago
    Oof, I used to work with one of the few workshops in the world that could produce small batches of parts down to 0.0001mm or something a bit ridiculous. Their pricing and supply times factored in a pretty significant failure rate, and we were basically asking them for highly precise screws and nuts for a couple thousand each.
    - andi999 5y ago
      For what application would one need such a precision?
      - lkois 5y ago
        International standards for reference connectors for medical devices. Basically, if you make syringes or IV lines with a screw fitting, the dimensions of that fitting need to be within some range so it'll make a secure connection to something else. Those are made out of plastic, all materials and dimensions are well defined for their usage and mass production, and have a decent tolerance to them. But to check THAT tolerance, you have these metal screws that they need to securely attach or be unable to attach to. And since the metal fittings will be used for batch testing entire production runs of life or death parts for years to come, they go a little overboard with specifications. I'm not sure if it really needed to be THAT precise, but that's just what it was
  - repiret 5y ago
    You can fudge 1/8” in some things, but lots of woodworking has to be way more precise. Just about any joinery, parts of cabinetry, parts of finish carpentry.
- lkois 5y ago
  As a former mechanical engineer, the forgiveness is an amazing feature of software development. Not only can you easily correct mistakes, but you can deliberately run head first into them over and over, essentially brute forcing a working solution, without pausing to be precise. Especially with interpreted languages. I'm not sure if this command will work? Well I may as well just try it anyway. Something broke? I'll throw in a breakpoint and try out a bunch of dummy variables and alternative methods until the errors stop. And while it's a common complaint that compile times force some extra care, with hardware that extra care needs to happen outside the medium itself, mucking around with CAD software and such, before sending designs off to workshops. It'd be like if the solution to avoiding compile errors was very carefully handwriting code on paper
- JasonFruit 5y ago
  I have never heard "Hooped!" before, but this is cultural appropriation I can get behind.
  - moistly 5y ago
    I don’t think “hooped” is culturally appropriated. I did find out that it’s a regionalism, though! > (Western Canada, slang) beset with unfortunate circumstances that seem difficult or impossible to overcome; screwed. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hooped https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hooped I’d love to know its origin. I picked it up from family.
- analog31 5y ago
  For me, the intolerance for mistakes is a major part of what makes it interesting. I love writing code too, but it's a different kind of thrill.
- herbst 5y ago
  This is something I can totally reflect on. I am used to polishing things to production and showing my products to the world. But working with wood a crippling anxiety hangs over me.

moistly 5y ago

The other big difference is that you generally can’t make mistakes in woodworking. Made a mistake in your code? No problem, you fix the bug. But not in woodworking. Cut a piece too short? You’re hooped. Drilled a hole in the wrong place? You’re hooped. Misalignment during glue-up? Hooped. Woodworking scratches many of the same itches as programming for me, with one key difference: it’s unforgiving of mistakes, so requires a lot more care.

lazide 5y ago
Just wait until it’s machining! Wood working at least most of the time tolerances are +- 1/8”. Throwing away a thousand dollar part because you were .003” off is lame. At least if you have a grinder, welding can sometimes be more forgiving.
- lkois 5y ago
  Oof, I used to work with one of the few workshops in the world that could produce small batches of parts down to 0.0001mm or something a bit ridiculous. Their pricing and supply times factored in a pretty significant failure rate, and we were basically asking them for highly precise screws and nuts for a couple thousand each.
  - andi999 5y ago
    For what application would one need such a precision?
    - lkois 5y ago
      International standards for reference connectors for medical devices. Basically, if you make syringes or IV lines with a screw fitting, the dimensions of that fitting need to be within some range so it'll make a secure connection to something else. Those are made out of plastic, all materials and dimensions are well defined for their usage and mass production, and have a decent tolerance to them. But to check THAT tolerance, you have these metal screws that they need to securely attach or be unable to attach to. And since the metal fittings will be used for batch testing entire production runs of life or death parts for years to come, they go a little overboard with specifications. I'm not sure if it really needed to be THAT precise, but that's just what it was
- repiret 5y ago
  You can fudge 1/8” in some things, but lots of woodworking has to be way more precise. Just about any joinery, parts of cabinetry, parts of finish carpentry.
lkois 5y ago
As a former mechanical engineer, the forgiveness is an amazing feature of software development. Not only can you easily correct mistakes, but you can deliberately run head first into them over and over, essentially brute forcing a working solution, without pausing to be precise. Especially with interpreted languages. I'm not sure if this command will work? Well I may as well just try it anyway. Something broke? I'll throw in a breakpoint and try out a bunch of dummy variables and alternative methods until the errors stop. And while it's a common complaint that compile times force some extra care, with hardware that extra care needs to happen outside the medium itself, mucking around with CAD software and such, before sending designs off to workshops. It'd be like if the solution to avoiding compile errors was very carefully handwriting code on paper
JasonFruit 5y ago
I have never heard "Hooped!" before, but this is cultural appropriation I can get behind.
- moistly 5y ago
  I don’t think “hooped” is culturally appropriated. I did find out that it’s a regionalism, though! > (Western Canada, slang) beset with unfortunate circumstances that seem difficult or impossible to overcome; screwed. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hooped https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hooped I’d love to know its origin. I picked it up from family.
analog31 5y ago
For me, the intolerance for mistakes is a major part of what makes it interesting. I love writing code too, but it's a different kind of thrill.
herbst 5y ago
This is something I can totally reflect on. I am used to polishing things to production and showing my products to the world. But working with wood a crippling anxiety hangs over me.