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The worst tool for the job

johndcook.com

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Re: The worst tool for the job

#51

Post by gk1 »

tristor wrote: post #45

I follow a completely opposite model. I research and learn as much as I can about something before committing to it and get the best equipment I can afford. Consequently, I’ve enjoyed all my hobbies over the years and find myself going back to things often. I have never regretted investing in quality tools. It’s not necessary to buy the most expensive option, but prioritizing quality and ergonomics over price is the…

> I research and learn as much as I can about something before committing to it

For me, the time I end up spending on research and the mild stress I feel when trying to make a decision is not worth it at the very beginning.

Re: The worst tool for the job

#52

Post by segfaultbuserr »

cmehdy wrote: post #22
gk1 wrote: post #2

What a great principle. One of those things I've felt for a long time but never express so well as John did. This idea extends to many other things, like... sports equipment. Beginner runners/bikers/skateboarders/whatever will not really feel the difference between equipment that cost $100 and $1,000, so get the cheap one and use it to (its) death. If you're still into the sport by then, go ahead and get the nicer on…

Sometimes you don't know what the minimum viable is because you are a beginner and don't know yourself well in that field. For example, I started running with shoes that were somewhat fine for beginners when I would double-check online, but happened to have limitations that affected people who practice a lot, or people who don't practice properly, or in my case undiagnosed issues (hypermobility of the knee). In my ca…

> Sometimes you don't know what the minimum viable is because you are a beginner and don't know yourself well in that field.

+1.

Although the saying is "a bad workman always blames his tools", but I often heard the notion that a beginner should be trained using tools and equipment of decent quality, so it doesn't mislead the beginner or interfere with the learning process. After one has mastered the skill, one may choose something worse later on if budget is an issue. At this point, the limitation of the tool is more tolerable, since you already know how a task is supposed to be done properly, you only need to overcome the deviations.

Of course, this strategy is more suitable to the trainer than the trainee - it can only save money for you when you are trained at workplaces or institutions, where you don't need to pay for the equipment...

Re: The worst tool for the job

#53

Post by jabroni_salad »

Kinrany wrote: post #17
klodolph wrote: post #4

Eh, something to be said for mid-range too. I have a 12v cordless drill. Ended up saving me tons of work over the years but by no means either the best or the worst. Musical instruments. The low-end ones tend to be true disasters. Mid-range CPUs and GPUs are wonderful. Kitchen mixers, knives, screwdrivers, soldering irons, drill presses, etc. Plenty of times the worst tool is so obviously terrible that you probably s…

> I have a 12v cordless drill. Ended up saving me tons of work over the years but by no means either the best or the worst But are there cheaper drills that do the same?

corded drills, and if you are an infrequent user you dont have to worry about the battery going flat.

Re: The worst tool for the job

#54

Post by klodolph »

Kinrany wrote: post #17
klodolph wrote: post #4

Eh, something to be said for mid-range too. I have a 12v cordless drill. Ended up saving me tons of work over the years but by no means either the best or the worst. Musical instruments. The low-end ones tend to be true disasters. Mid-range CPUs and GPUs are wonderful. Kitchen mixers, knives, screwdrivers, soldering irons, drill presses, etc. Plenty of times the worst tool is so obviously terrible that you probably s…

> I have a 12v cordless drill. Ended up saving me tons of work over the years but by no means either the best or the worst But are there cheaper drills that do the same?

The cheaper drills I’ve seen have motors that burn out or run out of torque. At least, that’s my experience with them. One of the ways you save money on a motor is by making the windings with thinner copper wires.

The higher-end drills are 18V or 20V models with enough power to, you know, hang sheetrock for eight hours a day. Something that I don’t need.

So I bought a mid-range drill, a relatively inexpensive 12V model.

Re: The worst tool for the job

#55

Post by schwartzworld »

bosie wrote: post #36
DizzyDoo wrote: post #32

Sometimes using less-than-the-best tools directly leads to better products with smoother development cycles. I'm an indie games developer and I develop on a machine that is the 'Minimum Hardware Requirements' for my games. So, if you visit the Steam page for my current game, the Minimum Requirements are just the specs of my computer, which would be considered mid-range when I built it in 2016, and now is very underpo…

Though this seems only relevant if running on lower spec hardware (mid range 2016 machines) is actually relevant to the product. If it isn't and customer would rather have better graphics at a higher cost of running it, you are developing against a metric of success which is unfortunately wrong.

Yes, hence OPs use of the word "sometimes"

Re: The worst tool for the job

#56

Post by jabroni_salad »

adregan wrote: post #25

Interestingly, no one asked me what software I used when I created diagrams in the vector graphics app sketch[0], but once I started using ascii diagrams using monodraw[1], everyone wanted to know what I was using. I find the aesthetic extremely "precious;" that's why I do it. Affectations are memorable. 0: https://www.sketch.com/ 1: https://monodraw.helftone.com/

ASCIIflow is nice if you want something that can run on a not-mac. Typing out your ascii is a little tedious. I would rather freehand it in mspaint.

http://asciiflow.com/

Re: The worst tool for the job

#57

Post by ajmurmann »

the_af wrote: post #21
PaulHoule wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I found a pretty big difference between a $20 tennis racket and a $60 racket. For one thing, any tennis racket is going to get loose if you play with it long enough. It cost more than $20 to redo the strings on a $20 tennis racket and $20 racket is going to send balls in totally the wrong direction in the next season.

I guess the point is that if you find redoing the strings of your $20 racket more than once or twice, it means you're really using it and that warrants buying the expensive one. The idea is to avoid buying the expensive racket before you even know if you'll like playing tennis at all.

Also the other half of the article's premise: you've return out the cheap racket. This means you are really using the thing, do don't just buy a better one but but a great one. Don't waste money working your way through mid-tier equipment first

Re: The worst tool for the job

#58

Post by [deleted] »

eezurr wrote: post #35
klodolph wrote: post #4

Eh, something to be said for mid-range too. I have a 12v cordless drill. Ended up saving me tons of work over the years but by no means either the best or the worst. Musical instruments. The low-end ones tend to be true disasters. Mid-range CPUs and GPUs are wonderful. Kitchen mixers, knives, screwdrivers, soldering irons, drill presses, etc. Plenty of times the worst tool is so obviously terrible that you probably s…

On Bicycles: I've ridden cheap bikes ( $ Yesterday I went to my local Trek store and rode a $2500 bike for the first time, and it was a joy to ride. I didn't know gear changes could be so accurate/seamless/instant. First time I rode with disc brakes: I feel way more in control when I need to stop at high speed. The frame fit my body perfectly. Obviously the bike will wear down like cheaper bikes, but the difference i…

[deleted]

Re: The worst tool for the job

#59

Post by klodolph »

itsoktocry wrote: post #34
klodolph wrote: post #4

Eh, something to be said for mid-range too. I have a 12v cordless drill. Ended up saving me tons of work over the years but by no means either the best or the worst. Musical instruments. The low-end ones tend to be true disasters. Mid-range CPUs and GPUs are wonderful. Kitchen mixers, knives, screwdrivers, soldering irons, drill presses, etc. Plenty of times the worst tool is so obviously terrible that you probably s…

> Musical instruments. The low-end ones tend to be true disasters. For "hobby" items, it's mostly about developing habits. You don't need top-of-the-line equipment to "make music". Once you enjoying the art of making music, you can easily move on to bigger and better equipment.

You don’t need top-of-the line equipment to make music, but if you get the cheapest instruments you can find, they might be physically painful to play, fail to stay in tune, etc.

Re: The worst tool for the job

#60

Post by fatbird »

The same idea goes for art supplies. When you're learning to paint, the cheap paints are good enough for your skill level while you learn the basics; when you understand why your paints are the cheap paints, you'll understand the value of the expensive paints in a way you couldn't before.
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