Common Jobs in a Medieval City

Post by tomjakubowski » Mon, Dec 06, 2021, 9:55 PM UTC

stevesimmons wrote: post #131

adamc wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the link! Hadn't heard of that, although I've seen similar reasoning in other contexts. (Basically, the most reasonable estimate, absent other data, is that you are at the mean -- so, for example, one could reasonably guess that half the people to ever be born have been born at present.)

So some people have 4 testicles? (assuming I'm average...)

Post by w_TF » Mon, Dec 06, 2021, 10:04 PM UTC

JackFr wrote: post #78

brianwawok wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't that raise prices, to use a nurse as a reception? In the US it would be something like: Receptionist: 30k / year Nurse: 80k / year. So you have: Doctor's office 1: 3x Nurse, 240k per year in salary Doctor's office 2: 2x Nurse, 1x Receptionist, 190k pear year. That 50k in extra cost has to come from somewhere. Lower paid doctors, higher costs, ???

I don't know how things have changed over the past 25 years, but I used to work as a defense contractor and would frequently have to visit the Navy Annex in Virginia which was also HQ US Marine Corps. It always struck me as weird that the guardhouse gate to enter was manned by a $12 hour off-brand security guard. I mentioned it to someone at one point, and I was told "Do you know how much it costs to train a Marine?…

Post by thaumasiotes » Mon, Dec 06, 2021, 10:08 PM UTC

dotancohen wrote: post #66

credit_guy wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Dad was born before WW2 in a village in Eastern Europe, which was probably closer to a medieval village than to a 21st century one. He told me that a blacksmith would ask for 3 plum trees to do a certain job, presumably in order to make charcoal. I don't think there was anything special about plum trees, other than the local availability: people were (and still are) growing plum trees in order to make spirits. Giv…

Of extraordinary interest is the fact that the blacksmith made his own charcoal and presumably other consumables and tools. From whence his anvil? Would you mind sharing some more details, such as where was the village? This is exactly the type of history story that I enjoy telling my children. If you'd prefer to share privately, my Gmail username is the same as my HN username. Thank you!

Post by thaumasiotes » Mon, Dec 06, 2021, 10:11 PM UTC

credit_guy wrote: post #98

dotancohen wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of extraordinary interest is the fact that the blacksmith made his own charcoal and presumably other consumables and tools. From whence his anvil? Would you mind sharing some more details, such as where was the village? This is exactly the type of history story that I enjoy telling my children. If you'd prefer to share privately, my Gmail username is the same as my HN username. Thank you!

I'm not sure if the blacksmith was making his own charcoal, or exchanging the wood for charcoal from someone who specialized in that. My Dad's village was about 250 km from this village [1] where people make charcoal even these days (one of the last remaining charcoal burning sites in the world). It's possible back in the day there were much more numerous such sites, so one would not have to travel far. But even if t…

Post by avgcorrection » Mon, Dec 06, 2021, 10:14 PM UTC

bruce343434 wrote: post #17

thedailymail wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the parent quote may be in reference to David Graeber's commentary on "bullshit jobs".

I figured as much. But I don't agree with the premise of the book. Sure, we all "know" the jobs are bullshit, and yet they aren't. Let's go over the wikipedia summary at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit_Jobs >flunkies, who serve to make their superiors feel important, e.g., receptionists, administrative assistants, door attendants, makers of websites whose sites neglect ease of use and speed for looks; They ser…