Shop Class as Soulcraft Deep Thoughts

I’m a big fan of Matt Crawford’s fantastic book on the value of skilled labour, Shop Class as Soul Craft.  If you get a chance, it’ll change your mind about the value of working with your hands.

I just finished his latest book, The World Beyond Your Head, where he makes a compelling argument for our’s being a situated intelligence (we aren’t brains in boxes) that is evident because of our manual connection to the world around us, not in spite of it.  It’s a deep, rich read that does a lot of dismantle the idea of the empty expertise of the digital economy/liberal arts student.

I recently came across a video where Crawford is talking about the book, and other things.  This bit struck me as funny after my recent thoughts on biker culture:

“You might say the B.S. quotient it low… unless you’re dealing with Harley owners.  Then it can actually be quite high.”

You’d think most people would buy the dependable ones, right?

That idea of a B.S. quotient led me look up motorcycle reliability indices for the first time.  Consumer Reports gets into it by explaining how customer satisfaction is different from reliability.  You’d think the two things are closely linked, but they aren’t so much.

“If you want to know how satisfied riders are with their motorcycle, ask them about comfort. We found that comfort ratings track most closely with overall satisfaction scores. “

You know those leather clad tough guys in their Motor Company regalia?  They like comfort the most.  Potato, potato, potato