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To take your Hammer example it really depends on what you're doing. If the only thing you're doing is pounding framing nails then one framing hammer is generall

To take your Hammer example it really depends on what you're doing. If the only thing you're doing is pounding framing nails then one framing hammer is generally suitable. If you need to pound framing nails and you need to do metal work and you need to do fine finish work you will need a number of different hammers to accomplish those jobs and have a good outcome in each task. Your argument is that Excel is fine at being the one hammer that can do absolutely everything as good as purpose-built software is. That is factually wrong. I know it tries to be and it's okay at being average at many of these tasks and if average is good enough for you then go ahead and do it. I for one choose to frame my house by using either a framing hammer or a power nailer that's made to drive framing nails. When I do my finish work I don't want mark up on my trim with big old Hammer marks from a framing hammer, so I choose to use a hammer that's made for finish nails or a brad nail gun or another tool that's made to do it so it looks professional. You are welcome to live in a house that is built like trash and is marred up with "apprentice marks" as they're called. I will choose to be the master Craftsman.

gjsman-1000 2y ago
But what if you need to do all of those kinds of work every day, are not allowed to bring your own tools, and do not know which house you will be visiting each morning?
- elmerfud 2y ago
  That seems like a statement of someone who's never done any of this kind of work at any kind of reasonable complexity level that would necessitate having good tools. That would be like you asking a contractor to come to your house but not tell them what you're looking to have done. The real problem there is they don't know what you're looking to do you might not even hire the right contractor so worrying about the tools is secondary.
jimnotgym 2y ago
Counterpoint. Before I retrained in finance I was a carpenter & joiner, and a good one too. People would wait for months for my gang to be free. Nail guns were rare in my country back then. There are only so many tools you could carry to site so you had to compromise. I had to hammer in 4" nails, so carried a 20oz Stanley claw hammer. Then it would rain so we would move to finish work...all with the same hammer. It was rare that I would leave 'half-moons' as we called them, where you hit the wood rather than the nail. None of our gang carried a second hammer. A 60 year old life long carpenter I worked with told me when I was an apprentice that 'pin hammers' with their small heads tend to leave more marks. I never saw him leave a mark with his 16oz Stanley Steelmaster. I saw him drive in 6 inch nails better than me, and saw him drive panel pins. I saw him have to give up his hammer when the rubber grip wore completely through under his thumb. I saw him try every (superficially identical factory made) hammer in the shop until he felt one was near enough. I tried it too and I could feel the difference between them. Such was the bond we had with our tools. You see being an expert with your tools is more important than having every tool in the catalogue. In fact, knowing that one hammer intimately, having your thumb print worn into the grip, was much better than having a multitude of hammers that I had no feel for. I would rather my team were great at Excel, knew its foibles and limitations, than to start dabbling at things they could never become properly familiar with. I don't need people who suck at SQL writing queries. I don't need people who are great at SQL but don't understand accounts either. I have been burnt by both. IT people who decide you don't need x, and filter it out are a menace to my profession.
- fuzzfactor 2y ago
  That's no fair, you're using your tool as an instrument ;) As I would say in instrument theory. This can be tough for some logicians to handle when they say "if your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail" when it's literally true on the surface. It's just that most people don't even get basic tool use, much less move beyond, and it's quite understandable why.

gjsman-1000 2y ago

But what if you need to do all of those kinds of work every day, are not allowed to bring your own tools, and do not know which house you will be visiting each morning?

elmerfud 2y ago
That seems like a statement of someone who's never done any of this kind of work at any kind of reasonable complexity level that would necessitate having good tools. That would be like you asking a contractor to come to your house but not tell them what you're looking to have done. The real problem there is they don't know what you're looking to do you might not even hire the right contractor so worrying about the tools is secondary.

jimnotgym 2y ago

Counterpoint. Before I retrained in finance I was a carpenter & joiner, and a good one too. People would wait for months for my gang to be free. Nail guns were rare in my country back then. There are only so many tools you could carry to site so you had to compromise. I had to hammer in 4" nails, so carried a 20oz Stanley claw hammer. Then it would rain so we would move to finish work...all with the same hammer. It was rare that I would leave 'half-moons' as we called them, where you hit the wood rather than the nail. None of our gang carried a second hammer. A 60 year old life long carpenter I worked with told me when I was an apprentice that 'pin hammers' with their small heads tend to leave more marks. I never saw him leave a mark with his 16oz Stanley Steelmaster. I saw him drive in 6 inch nails better than me, and saw him drive panel pins. I saw him have to give up his hammer when the rubber grip wore completely through under his thumb. I saw him try every (superficially identical factory made) hammer in the shop until he felt one was near enough. I tried it too and I could feel the difference between them. Such was the bond we had with our tools. You see being an expert with your tools is more important than having every tool in the catalogue. In fact, knowing that one hammer intimately, having your thumb print worn into the grip, was much better than having a multitude of hammers that I had no feel for. I would rather my team were great at Excel, knew its foibles and limitations, than to start dabbling at things they could never become properly familiar with. I don't need people who suck at SQL writing queries. I don't need people who are great at SQL but don't understand accounts either. I have been burnt by both. IT people who decide you don't need x, and filter it out are a menace to my profession.

fuzzfactor 2y ago
That's no fair, you're using your tool as an instrument ;) As I would say in instrument theory. This can be tough for some logicians to handle when they say "if your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail" when it's literally true on the surface. It's just that most people don't even get basic tool use, much less move beyond, and it's quite understandable why.