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Re:The Myth of Commoditized Excellence by Rainymood on Thursday October 03, 2019 @06:41AM (#21145494)
What is a tool and what is a toy? Or do they overlap?

I would classify a motorcycle (I have one too) as a tool for both transport (get me from A to B) and fun (riding it is fun).

That being said, holy mother of god it is stressful when there are other cars on the road, people are freaking scary in cars.

Re:The Myth of Commoditized Excellence by Excel_Wizard on Thursday October 03, 2019 @07:41AM (#21145836)
They overlap. My bandsaw is a tool and a toy. Cars are often toys, but almost always tools.
Re:The Myth of Commoditized Excellence by Rainymood on Thursday October 03, 2019 @07:51AM (#21145908)
Perhaps they are two completely different dimensions, imagine the x-axis being the "toolness" of something and the y-axis being the "toyness" of something.

A nuclear reactor is something that would have a very low "toyness" score, i.e. you wouldn't "play" with it.

A plastic toy car would have a very high "toyness" score, as it is literally designed to play with (by kids).

I kind of fear my analogy of two different dimensions breaks down here because I'm left wondering what things would have a low "toolness" score ...

Re:The Myth of Commoditized Excellence by johnr2 on Thursday October 03, 2019 @08:45AM (#21146313)
> I kind of fear my analogy of two different dimensions breaks down here because I'm left wondering what things would have a low "toolness" score ...

Maybe expressing it as a complex number would help, eg. toolness + i(toyness)

In polar form a low angle would indicate a high "toolness to toyness" ratio.

Re:The Myth of Commoditized Excellence by Rainymood on Thursday October 03, 2019 @08:59AM (#21146440)
The (real, complex) plane is equivalent to (toyness, toolness) although it is an interesting idea indeed to express it in polar coordinates hah
Re:The Myth of Commoditized Excellence by danaris on Thursday October 03, 2019 @08:42AM (#21146286)
The plastic toy car—it doesn't have any use beyond its toyness. It can't get you anywhere, or cut things into neat shapes.

"Toolness" is, at least to a large extent, a synonym for "(practical) utility".

Re:The Myth of Commoditized Excellence by Rainymood on Thursday October 03, 2019 @09:02AM (#21146453)
Indeed, I think "toolness" should be replaced by "impact" or "effectiveness".

Code, for example, can be played with but can also deliver significant impact to a large group of people.

A toy car, as another example, can be played with but delivers value to only one person at once (well, depending on how you use it).

Re:The Myth of Commoditized Excellence by avn2109 on Thursday October 03, 2019 @08:01AM (#21145984)
> I kind of fear my analogy of two different dimensions breaks down here because I'm left wondering what things would have a low "toolness" score ...

Haute couture fashion?