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My kid asked me why my shop floor is so clean and it made me stop.

He said 'Dad, it's like you're drawing with metal.' I'd never thought of the machine path like a drawing before. Now I watch the tool move and see the lines it's making. Anyone else ever get a new way to look at the work from someone outside the trade?
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3 Comments
wren_smith44
Love when kids point out the art in our work.
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elliotc10
elliotc103mo ago
Yeah that line about kids seeing the art in the work is so true, @wren_smith44. I read this thing about a kid who told a plumber his pipe layout looked like a dinosaur, and the guy said it made his whole week. It's cool how they notice the shapes and patterns we stop seeing. Makes you remember there's a craft to everything, not just the obvious stuff.
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ryan_carr59
But do you think we lose that ability to see the art because we get too focused on the job itself being done, or is it more about how we're taught to only value the final result? Like when you're plumbing, you're thinking about leaks and codes, not the cool line you just made. I wonder if keeping that kid's eye on the craft would actually make people better at their jobs in the long run.
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