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The Danger of Tools

stephengillie 14y ago
If you put knowledge or ability into a tool, you can just hand that knowledge/ability around. The knowledge of "the length of an inch" was originally only known by one person who told others. This didn't scale well, so the ruler was invented. Anyone with a ruler knows exactly the length of an inch. Few people can pull nails from wood with their bare hands. Claw hammers make this very easy. The ability was built into the tool, so giving the tool to an able-bodied human allows that human to pull nails from wood. It's like the quote: "If magic were real, it wouldn't be magic. It would be studied like science." Glasses give perfect eyesight to almost any human. If glasses didn't exist, about half of humanity would be less able to react and function, simply because they can't get the same quality of information about their environment. Does this mean we should stop using tools? Should we go back to a world where people can only do something if the action is made possible by the set of DNA mutations which makes each of us unique? Should we throw away autotune and automobiles and automatic defragmentation because each makes all humans more equal in ability?
- tenpoundhammer 14y ago
  We should definitely throw away auto-tune that is a scourge on humanity. My point wasn't that all tools are bad, but we need to be wary of the trade offs that happen when we use them and realize more or better tools aren't always the solution. In the last paragraph, "So what I’m saying is that tools are great, but dangerous. Be wary of them. They are often a trade off and not always what they seem. When choosing a tool always falter on the side of more control. Never make the process of creating about finding the ‘right’ tool make it about creating the ‘right’ thing."
  - stephengillie 14y ago
    You think it's a scourge on humanity that people who can't sing are now always in-tune? As an amateur musician, it means I don't hear out-of-tune musak anymore. For performers, it's another tool with which their audience can be entertained. For you, it's obviously a tool about which you can complain. See, even you find it useful!
    - tenpoundhammer 14y ago
      I can understand why you like it, but I find the sound it produces to be annoying. I am also an amateur musician. I find it mostly creates a homogenized vocal sound and promotes laziness. That being said, I never considered it's role in amateur musicianship. I was mostly thinking at the level of popular music.
kylemaxwell 14y ago
Center-justified text is pretty difficult to read.
- tenpoundhammer 14y ago
  thanks for the note, it's now left justified.

If you put knowledge or ability into a tool, you can just hand that knowledge/ability around. The knowledge of "the length of an inch" was originally only known by one person who told others. This didn't scale well, so the ruler was invented. Anyone with a ruler knows exactly the length of an inch. Few people can pull nails from wood with their bare hands. Claw hammers make this very easy. The ability was built into the tool, so giving the tool to an able-bodied human allows that human to pull nails from wood. It's like the quote: "If magic were real, it wouldn't be magic. It would be studied like science." Glasses give perfect eyesight to almost any human. If glasses didn't exist, about half of humanity would be less able to react and function, simply because they can't get the same quality of information about their environment. Does this mean we should stop using tools? Should we go back to a world where people can only do something if the action is made possible by the set of DNA mutations which makes each of us unique? Should we throw away autotune and automobiles and automatic defragmentation because each makes all humans more equal in ability?

tenpoundhammer 14y ago
We should definitely throw away auto-tune that is a scourge on humanity. My point wasn't that all tools are bad, but we need to be wary of the trade offs that happen when we use them and realize more or better tools aren't always the solution. In the last paragraph, "So what I’m saying is that tools are great, but dangerous. Be wary of them. They are often a trade off and not always what they seem. When choosing a tool always falter on the side of more control. Never make the process of creating about finding the ‘right’ tool make it about creating the ‘right’ thing."
- stephengillie 14y ago
  You think it's a scourge on humanity that people who can't sing are now always in-tune? As an amateur musician, it means I don't hear out-of-tune musak anymore. For performers, it's another tool with which their audience can be entertained. For you, it's obviously a tool about which you can complain. See, even you find it useful!
  - tenpoundhammer 14y ago
    I can understand why you like it, but I find the sound it produces to be annoying. I am also an amateur musician. I find it mostly creates a homogenized vocal sound and promotes laziness. That being said, I never considered it's role in amateur musicianship. I was mostly thinking at the level of popular music.

kylemaxwell 14y ago

Center-justified text is pretty difficult to read.

tenpoundhammer 14y ago
thanks for the note, it's now left justified.