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In regards to objects like the guitar listed in the quote, there is a draw to how a hand-crafted item can be _unique_ due to slight imperfections. This can rang

In regards to objects like the guitar listed in the quote, there is a draw to how a hand-crafted item can be _unique_ due to slight imperfections. This can range from just slight imperfections in the wood to things such as believing your guitar has a unique sound. Sure the factory guitar may sound "perfect", but the only guitar that sounds like this handmade guitar is this handmade guitar.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
ryao 2y ago
I would not consider that evidence for the items being better, but it does explain why some people are drawn to hand made items. I consider such items to be worse and not just because they are objectively worse. Items break and are lost. When you become emotionally attached to an object such as a unique imperfect guitar, you are guaranteed to have sorrow when it is lost (e.g. in a fire). In any case, the original premise was that such items are better and thus hand made medicine is better too. However, you do not want variations in medicine. During the pandemic, my doctor had a suspicion that the dosages of certain drugs had been lowered by the manufacturers versus what was on the label. That posed a problem for him because he could not properly treat patients if he had no clue what was actually in the pills filling his prescriptions. His suspicion had stemmed from seeing a trend among his patients where the efficacy was dropping in a way consistent with the dosages being lowered, although he was not sure by how much. If he had tried to compensate by prescribing larger dosages, when the manufacturers began to get things right again, his patients would have been taking overdoses. His solution was to switch them to alternative drugs and hope that the manufacturers of those drugs were producing pills that matched their labels. This is why precision is very important when it comes to medicine and the last thing anyone needs are imperfections in drug manufacturing.
- roughly 2y ago
  > Items break and are lost. When you become emotionally attached to an object such as a unique imperfect guitar, you are guaranteed to have sorrow when it is lost (e.g. in a fire). Life is loss. You can’t have sorrow without having experienced joy. Sorrow passes.
  - ryao 2y ago
    You can avoid this kind of loss by getting a guitar made from a long running factory line such that you can get an identical replacement.
    - roughly 2y ago
      You can avoid a lot of joy that way, too.
      - ryao 2y ago
        I do not see how. A well made guitar from a factory would give the same joy as a hand made one as far as I am concerned. Perhaps even more upon realizing imperfections were avoided.
        crdrost 2y ago
        You two are in a battle over aesthetics, it is a battle that neither of you can win. There is something attractive about a new set of work gloves. They are fresh, clean, almost begging you to use them in a project. There is something attractive about a set of work gloves that have curled to the shape of your hands and have been burnished by sap and sawdusts and oils: come on old friend, let's remake our previous magic. There's something nice about a fleecy throw, but they are not as cozy as the quilts my wife made for my daughter, but defining that coziness will remain out of reach as far as my words go. No one can be correct, here. It's just what appeals more or less to you.
    - wilsonnb3 2y ago
      Guitars are manufactured from organic material. Even coming off of a factory line, no two guitars are identical because no two pieces of wood are identical.
      - ryao 2y ago
        Even without organic material, no two would be alike due to manufacturing tolerances. Good quality control keeps those tolerances low enough that the differences are not significant or noticeable.
jelling 2y ago
Any guitarist that places outside of the house will have no problem inflicting enough damage on their guitar to make it unique.
wyre 2y ago
Wouldn't a better example than guitars be violins? A handmade violin is always going to sound better than one machinemade because the luthier is able to treat the wood specifcally to showcase the tone of the wood used.
tedunangst 2y ago
Do I want to take medication produced by the same process that leads to unique sounding guitars?

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

ryao 2y ago

I would not consider that evidence for the items being better, but it does explain why some people are drawn to hand made items. I consider such items to be worse and not just because they are objectively worse. Items break and are lost. When you become emotionally attached to an object such as a unique imperfect guitar, you are guaranteed to have sorrow when it is lost (e.g. in a fire). In any case, the original premise was that such items are better and thus hand made medicine is better too. However, you do not want variations in medicine. During the pandemic, my doctor had a suspicion that the dosages of certain drugs had been lowered by the manufacturers versus what was on the label. That posed a problem for him because he could not properly treat patients if he had no clue what was actually in the pills filling his prescriptions. His suspicion had stemmed from seeing a trend among his patients where the efficacy was dropping in a way consistent with the dosages being lowered, although he was not sure by how much. If he had tried to compensate by prescribing larger dosages, when the manufacturers began to get things right again, his patients would have been taking overdoses. His solution was to switch them to alternative drugs and hope that the manufacturers of those drugs were producing pills that matched their labels. This is why precision is very important when it comes to medicine and the last thing anyone needs are imperfections in drug manufacturing.

roughly 2y ago
> Items break and are lost. When you become emotionally attached to an object such as a unique imperfect guitar, you are guaranteed to have sorrow when it is lost (e.g. in a fire). Life is loss. You can’t have sorrow without having experienced joy. Sorrow passes.
- ryao 2y ago
  You can avoid this kind of loss by getting a guitar made from a long running factory line such that you can get an identical replacement.
  - roughly 2y ago
    You can avoid a lot of joy that way, too.
    - ryao 2y ago
      I do not see how. A well made guitar from a factory would give the same joy as a hand made one as far as I am concerned. Perhaps even more upon realizing imperfections were avoided.
      - crdrost 2y ago
        You two are in a battle over aesthetics, it is a battle that neither of you can win. There is something attractive about a new set of work gloves. They are fresh, clean, almost begging you to use them in a project. There is something attractive about a set of work gloves that have curled to the shape of your hands and have been burnished by sap and sawdusts and oils: come on old friend, let's remake our previous magic. There's something nice about a fleecy throw, but they are not as cozy as the quilts my wife made for my daughter, but defining that coziness will remain out of reach as far as my words go. No one can be correct, here. It's just what appeals more or less to you.
  - wilsonnb3 2y ago
    Guitars are manufactured from organic material. Even coming off of a factory line, no two guitars are identical because no two pieces of wood are identical.
    - ryao 2y ago
      Even without organic material, no two would be alike due to manufacturing tolerances. Good quality control keeps those tolerances low enough that the differences are not significant or noticeable.

jelling 2y ago

Any guitarist that places outside of the house will have no problem inflicting enough damage on their guitar to make it unique.

wyre 2y ago

Wouldn't a better example than guitars be violins? A handmade violin is always going to sound better than one machinemade because the luthier is able to treat the wood specifcally to showcase the tone of the wood used.

tedunangst 2y ago

Do I want to take medication produced by the same process that leads to unique sounding guitars?