On Sat, 3 Aug 2013, Oregonian Haruspex wrote:

On 2013-07-28 18:56:37 +0000, extra class said:

3. Gen Xers have not interest or desire in dyi projects

Considering that we Gen Xers are responsible for everything from the Maker
movement to creating affordable 3D printing machines, I think you're way off
base here.


The "Maker Movement" is hype, it rides on the people who've always been
interested in building things. Since the magazine hasnt't been around a
decade, there hasn't been enough time for many to start from point zero
and get good enough by now, so it rests on the existing hobbyists.

A 3D "printer" is interesting, but once the hype disappears, what's the
point? I rarely think "I wish I could make an exact copy of that plastic
piece". I have other ways to make pieces i need, or make do. The field
is just about plastic now, so it's not like you can make something really
signficiant. The notion of making a gun out of plastic, not only is that
not going to stand up that well after much use, but one could always make
some sort of gun out of bits and pieces, or so I gather.

3D printing is another dumbing down. Yes, it will be valuable to some,
but once the masses get their hands on it, they will simply let other
people create the parts, and it will just be a matter of "printing" them
at their house. No skill required.

And like I said, that's some of the hype of the maker movement, more
people can follow instructions, but it doesn't raise them up.

I've been going through old magazines, a local bookstore having found a
stash of them. The skill level to build the projects was much higher than
in "Make", but it was a whole wide field. "Build a two man sub for about
$400" says an article in Popular Science from about 1968. YOu can't tell
me the kids have invented something new when building things had such a
large infrastructure decades ago. And it wasn't just Popular Science (and
it's projects and tips), it was Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated,
Popular Electronics, Radio Electronics, Electronics Illustrated,
Elementary Electronics, Science and Mechanichs, endless annuals and
semiannuals like that one I found a few years ago about prospecting for
uranium and "Communciation WOrld" a quarterly that carried White's Radio
Log forty years ago, QST, 73, CQ, Ham Radio and some glorified newsletters
dedciated to niche amateur radio topics like RTTY and VHF. The astronomy
magazines that often included projects about building telescopes or
accessories. Woodworking magazines and model railroad magazines. The
magazines were endless, and they all had projects you could learn from,
projects you could build.

Michael