"Don't quit, even when you know your stuff sucks" - Ira Glass on Storytelling

Re:"Don't quit, even when you know your stuff sucks" - Ira G... by iamwil on Saturday May 24, 2008 @02:27PM (#198936)

I normally wouldn't post stuff on here from youtube, but I was watching stuff on "This American Life", and I ran across this clip. TAL is a weekly radio show. Regardless of what you might think about the show, here, the host of the show talks about getting better at what you do, and how many people quit when they can tell their stuff sucks. I thought it applicable to builders that frequent this forum as well, as well as being in line with PG's essay about a taste for makers.

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Re:"Don't quit, even when you know your stuff sucks" - Ira G... by blogimus on Saturday May 24, 2008 @02:47PM (#198955)

I've not watched to video, but I think of a woodworking page I read a long time ago following the paths of a power tool guy and a hand tool guy learning their craft. Through enough practice, they eventually converge on a generally common set of tools, mix of hand and power. Through the progression of skill development were milestones of

make stuff that sucks that no one wants, throw it out.

make stuff that sucks that you can use, keep it for a while.

make stuff that sucks less, keep it for longer.

make stuff and hey, someone actually wants you to make stuff for them

make stuff better

and so on...

To me, its about making mistakes and learning from them, trying not to repeat the same mistake twice. Then you are bound to get better. There was some quote I heard that if you make enough mistakes and don't repeat them, you will run out of mistakes. It was a bit satirical, but I like the general line of thinking.

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Re:"Don't quit, even when you know your stuff sucks" - Ira G... by wallflower on Saturday May 24, 2008 @03:25PM (#198981)

I took a furniture making class and Dan, the experienced woodworker, who taught the class told me something important when I was struggling with my table. He said "Do you think master woodworkers don't make mistakes? They do, they shim* stuff up. You can't tell when it's done". Another woodworker also told me 'there's no such thing as the right way. there's only smarter, safer, faster" e.g. if you run into a problem, you work around it with a creative solution.

A shim is a small piece of wood, chipped to fit into a joint and glued in place so that the joint is snug.

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Re:"Don't quit, even when you know your stuff sucks" - Ira G... by blogimus on Saturday May 24, 2008 @04:55PM (#199047)

yep, and mistakes that do not negatively impact functionality or form are collectively called "character."

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Re:"Don't quit, even when you know your stuff sucks" - Ira G... by jamesbritt on Saturday May 24, 2008 @08:15PM (#199199)

> There was some quote I heard that if you make enough mistakes and don't repeat them, you will run out of mistakes. It was a bit satirical, but I like the general line of thinking.

There's a quote by some physicist to effect of, "An expert is someone who has made all the mistakes one can make in a chosen field."

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Re:"Don't quit, even when you know your stuff sucks" - Ira G... by neilc on Sunday May 25, 2008 @04:11AM (#199427)

Really interesting interview -- thanks for posting it! Just the sort of content I love to see on news.yc

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