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Nobody gets paid to be a telephone operator or a cobbler or a steeplejack anymore either. If new tools come along that automates and further commoditizes the pr

Nobody gets paid to be a telephone operator or a cobbler or a steeplejack anymore either. If new tools come along that automates and further commoditizes the production of art, I don't see the issue. Automatic driving for trucking, public transport, taxis would economically impact vastly more people, and everyone here seems to be cheering for that. There's nothing special about art. People will still do it as a hobby, like they do with a lot of other dead trades and professions. In many ways I think the personal aspect of the creation and sharing with people you know is the special thing, rather than the creation or performance of a commercial success (not that I've had any experience with the latter, mind you). And I'm not against the mass consumption of art, just that it needn't be produced by people if it has the same entertainment value then that's great.

fingerlocks 4y ago
Cobblers still exist. I visit one regularly for shoe repair. https://www.davepagecobbler.com/ https://www.davepagecobbler.com/
- throwawaylinux 4y ago
  Well you got me. I guess chimney sweeps and black smiths and loom weavers and carriage drivers still exist too, not sure about steeplejacks since the passing of Fred Dibnah. But you get what I'm trying to say, hopefully.
  - fingerlocks 4y ago
    You included “cobbler” only because it sounds old-timey to you, and I was pointing out that it’s not. Repairing expensive shoes is not an automated process. It’s more like fixing a roof leak, landscaping, or changing a flat tire. Jobs for those things still exist and aren’t going anywhere.
    - throwawaylinux 4y ago
      No I included it because it used to be a common profession and now it is an extremely niche one. I could have also put chimney sweep in there knowing that it's still a thing. Someone is still going to pay for a person to perform or create art for them. Some professional driving jobs will continue to exist long after most are automated. When I said "nobody", that's what's known as hyperbole.
    - osullip 4y ago
      And people who have open fires often use the services of a chimney sweep. It's how you keep your chimney clean. https://melbournechimneysweeping.com.au/ https://melbournechimneysweeping.com.au/ is one near me. Not wanting to pile on the GP but their point is moot.
      - throwawaylinux 4y ago
        I said chimney sweeps still exist, so your point is redundant.
    - chucksmash 4y ago
      You're nitpicking one of the given examples without engaging the user on the point they were trying to make. To be nuanced, maybe they might have said, "cobblers are less in demand now that many people have moved from owning fewer pairs of shoes they make last through repair to owning more pairs of shoes that they tend to get rid of when they are worn out due to changes in construction materials used in production," but if people have to write like that to make points, nobody will ever make a point.
      - fingerlocks 4y ago
        Yes, I nitpicked because OP was speaking in absolutes. The larger point that “technology destroys jobs” is not novel or interesting. But to know that these jobs still exist, and might be more common than you realize, now that’s interesting!
        4y ago
- galdosdi 4y ago
  I grew up in a car dependent area and moved to a walkable big city in my teenage years, and only then became aware that cobblers were still a thing -- in fact, in NYC, they're not an obscure thing, but as common as bank branches. I think that's why there's a lot of people online who think cobblers aren't a thing anymore. They're from car dependent areas. If you drive everywhere, shoe soles don't wear out much faster than shoe uppers anyway, so it doesn't make sense to care. But if you move to a walkable city, you'll suddenly find it quite economical, since the soles wear out far faster, and the cost of a sole replacement is less than a new pair of shoes, so you might replace the sole a couple times before discarding the shoe.

fingerlocks 4y ago

Cobblers still exist. I visit one regularly for shoe repair. https://www.davepagecobbler.com/ https://www.davepagecobbler.com/

throwawaylinux 4y ago
Well you got me. I guess chimney sweeps and black smiths and loom weavers and carriage drivers still exist too, not sure about steeplejacks since the passing of Fred Dibnah. But you get what I'm trying to say, hopefully.
- fingerlocks 4y ago
  You included “cobbler” only because it sounds old-timey to you, and I was pointing out that it’s not. Repairing expensive shoes is not an automated process. It’s more like fixing a roof leak, landscaping, or changing a flat tire. Jobs for those things still exist and aren’t going anywhere.
  - throwawaylinux 4y ago
    No I included it because it used to be a common profession and now it is an extremely niche one. I could have also put chimney sweep in there knowing that it's still a thing. Someone is still going to pay for a person to perform or create art for them. Some professional driving jobs will continue to exist long after most are automated. When I said "nobody", that's what's known as hyperbole.
  - osullip 4y ago
    And people who have open fires often use the services of a chimney sweep. It's how you keep your chimney clean. https://melbournechimneysweeping.com.au/ https://melbournechimneysweeping.com.au/ is one near me. Not wanting to pile on the GP but their point is moot.
    - throwawaylinux 4y ago
      I said chimney sweeps still exist, so your point is redundant.
  - chucksmash 4y ago
    You're nitpicking one of the given examples without engaging the user on the point they were trying to make. To be nuanced, maybe they might have said, "cobblers are less in demand now that many people have moved from owning fewer pairs of shoes they make last through repair to owning more pairs of shoes that they tend to get rid of when they are worn out due to changes in construction materials used in production," but if people have to write like that to make points, nobody will ever make a point.
    - fingerlocks 4y ago
      Yes, I nitpicked because OP was speaking in absolutes. The larger point that “technology destroys jobs” is not novel or interesting. But to know that these jobs still exist, and might be more common than you realize, now that’s interesting!
      - 4y ago
galdosdi 4y ago
I grew up in a car dependent area and moved to a walkable big city in my teenage years, and only then became aware that cobblers were still a thing -- in fact, in NYC, they're not an obscure thing, but as common as bank branches. I think that's why there's a lot of people online who think cobblers aren't a thing anymore. They're from car dependent areas. If you drive everywhere, shoe soles don't wear out much faster than shoe uppers anyway, so it doesn't make sense to care. But if you move to a walkable city, you'll suddenly find it quite economical, since the soles wear out far faster, and the cost of a sole replacement is less than a new pair of shoes, so you might replace the sole a couple times before discarding the shoe.