111–120 of 147 posts
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The first programmable computer, using punchcards, was a loom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacquard_machine
I'm going to go ahead and say that you can have a complete CS education without studying fabric looms.
Back in the mid-90s, I asked my mother to teach me how to knit. Like many women of their time, both she and her mother were skilled at Aran knitting¹ and I was always impressed at the complex patterns that could be created from a length of yarn with two knitting needles – or three for the more complicated stitches. Even though this was the 90s and mindfulness wasn’t something anyone would have heard of in rural Irela…
Why do you consider playing guitar as something tactile but not programming? Genuine question really. Isn't playing guitar also not producing anything tangible?
The idea of sitting and quietly knitting is appealing but whenever I look at knitted goods I think there's no way I would spend hours making some rubbish tea towel/sweater etc
But, also, I've found my tastes changed some as I got into knitting. There's a sort of "see through the Matrix" effect where as I learned more about knitting, I could see things about what other people are wearing that I didn't notice before. I can often tell when someone is wearing a hand-knitted garment and every now and then even notice what yarn or pattern it is.
That makes knitted clothing and accessories more interesting to see and then more interesting for myself to wear: I'm not sending a signal to other knitters about who I am.
But if I still lived on the Gulf Coast where it's hot all the time? Yeah, probably not knitting as much.
That post would really have benefitted from some photos. It is quite the challenge to talk about knitting, and patterns, and materials, so abstractly.
I haven't been writing much the past couple of years for a number of reasons and I'm trying to get back into that habit. Part of that is lowering the effort required to get a post out, so I decided to not bother with adding photos even though I agree it would be better with them. Maybe I'll go back and add some if I find the time.
While I'm very open-minded to knitting, also consider picking up a musical instrument. Guitar, ukulele, keyboard. There are apps that'll teach you, and it's immensely gratifying -- if like me you obsess over certain songs -- to then be able to work towards playing those.
I agree, musical instruments also have the benefit of a much higher skill ceiling. That can also be a downside though, since it can make it frustrating to learn
As someone who both knits and plays a couple of instruments, I suspect you are underestimating the skill ceiling of knitting.
Take a look at something like this: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-queen-susan-sha...
You're talking years of work to complete it. You may be thinking, "well, sure, but it's just doing the same relatively easy thing over and over for a really long time." But that's not quite it. You're making a single physical object where it's easy to make mistakes and also easy to not realize you've made a mistake. Knitting builds on the previously knitted stitches. If you miscount something early on or forget a stitch, you can end up diverging irrevocably from the pattern. A moment's inattention early on can mean you have to undo literally months of work.
A large complex project like that shawl is like a giant oil painting. It's not just the scale and time, it's the ability to consistently avoid making mistakes which requires incredible patience and discipline.
And that's just knitting the work. Now consider the mastery required to design a project like this.
I've always been a computer guy... I'm bad with my hands. Could never do origami. Part of the reason I dropped out of Boy Scouts was I didn't want to learn how to make knots. I was terrible in art class, I can't draw and I honestly have trouble just visualizing things (I was not great in geometry either). It's difficult for me to be creative like that. So that's my background, lol.
I could play music (and that's a hobby I still want to pursue), but lately I've been wondering if there was a craft that was better for people like me. Like, I got these cute handmade plushies as a gift recently, and I want to do something like that.
(honestly it seems like crocheting and knitting might not be bad options, but just wondering what else is out there!)
e; one thing I've considered is making something with electronics (I know enough about circuits to be dangerous), but the thing you run into quickly is you don't really want to just give somebody a circuit board, lol. At some point, it seems like all the interesting projects move towards 3D printing which I find intimidating.
My girlfriend has been getting into crocheting recently, and I've been learning a lot about it and craft stuff in general. I've always been a computer guy... I'm bad with my hands. Could never do origami. Part of the reason I dropped out of Boy Scouts was I didn't want to learn how to make knots. I was terrible in art class, I can't draw and I honestly have trouble just visualizing things (I was not great in geometry…
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If you're not looking for random person's advice feel free to ignore :-) > If I try to play along with a record, I'm almost always lost right away because I start strumming to match the drumming pattern or the vocal rhythms. Are you able to play any strumming patterns (however simple) with just the metronome? Ideally you'd practice this enough that you are able to do it consistently with almost zero thinking, and the…
You are describing some of the exercises from the Justin Guitar Strumming SOS course. I bought that course and worked my way through it and enjoyed doing it, but it didn't have a big impact. To answer your metronome question - I can do it for a few minutes but soon something like semantic satiation sets in and I get out of sync. I start to focus on how my arm feels strumming and I can feel the pick vibrating in my fi…
Not surprised that these are in there!
> I can do it for a few minutes but soon something like semantic satiation sets in and I get out of sync
Huh, I never actually did that for more than a few minutes at the time (when just using the metronome), I can imagine it gets boring and attention wanders. I did try to do it frequently (couple of times a day, spread throughout the day), but only for two minutes or so.
Anyway, I thought you might have tried all of that already, considering you took lessons and bought courses, but still wanted to throw it out there. Good luck!
While I'm very open-minded to knitting, also consider picking up a musical instrument. Guitar, ukulele, keyboard. There are apps that'll teach you, and it's immensely gratifying -- if like me you obsess over certain songs -- to then be able to work towards playing those.
Knitting has the advantage that you can do it anywhere and at any time without 'bothering' anybody else. Sitting on the bus, watching TV, having a conversation. Most people I know who knit use it almost as a 'fidget toy' that they're subconsciously playing with while simultaneously doing something else. Only looking down every few minutes or so to make sure they're on the right track or to make some change
My girlfriend has been getting into crocheting recently, and I've been learning a lot about it and craft stuff in general. I've always been a computer guy... I'm bad with my hands. Could never do origami. Part of the reason I dropped out of Boy Scouts was I didn't want to learn how to make knots. I was terrible in art class, I can't draw and I honestly have trouble just visualizing things (I was not great in geometry…