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The corollary here is that giving a shit doesn't scale. The furniture makers that inspired this article can afford to give a shit because 1) they're expert at
by btbuildem 3y ago
The corollary here is that giving a shit doesn't scale.
The furniture makers that inspired this article can afford to give a shit because 1) they're expert at what they do and 2) they charge a lot of money.
These are constraints on both ends: on the supply of labour and on the demand for it. This is also why most people can't afford to give a shit -- they're not good enough to charge enough for that rare commodity.
- schmichael 3y agoI don’t think that is necessarily true. Sure it may be “easier” to give a shit when you’re an artisan charging a premium for your craft. However you can still give a shit if you’re a designer for IKEA. You can take joy knowing the more you minimize price while maximizing durability you not only bring joy to the majority of people who can’t afford hand crafted tables, but your efficiency can have major waste and ecological ramifications that an artisan shop can’t hope to copy. What you give a shit might change, but giving a shit absolutely scales.
- willi59549879 3y agowhy is everybody so obsessed with scale? the good things in live don't scale, like relationships. the dream of scaling everything to a 1 billion business is just greed talking. caring about a craft and building relationships will be more fulfilling than a billion in the bank
- teaearlgraycold 3y agoExactly. Once you have met your needs why the fuck are you trying to get more money? You’ve maxed out on money, you fool! Work on another dimension of life!
- jaggederest 3y agoLike the story of the businessman meeting the fisherman - "once you've built a business you can retire and do a little fishing" - "but I already do that"
- travisjungroth 3y agoNot everyone is obsessed with scale, but news.ycombinator.com biases that way.
- hn_version_0023 3y agoI’ve read this sentiment in the thread multiple times, but it just feels backwards to me. At scale you can afford to not give a shit. I don’t think you get to scale by not giving a shit, do you? But once you’re there? Well the money is just rolling in and well you can’t care about everything, can you? So you let some stuff slip and before you realize it you’re halfway down a slippery slope, claiming giving a shit doesn’t scale and forgetting in your panicked slide that it was your choice to stop giving a shit in the first place.