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Let me tell you about me Gear Fabrication Syndrome

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Re: Let me tell you about me Gear Fabrication Syndrome

#151

Post by cainxinth »

Fluorescence wrote: post #26
interroboink wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like this take. Nobody thinks of stamp collecting as a problematic hobby. Collecting and curating is fun in its own right. Though I do think there can be another aspect at play; I often find myself collecting things that I think "might be useful". Eg: I have a ton of empty yogurt containers, for use in hypothetical future art projects. I do use them sometimes, but at this point I have plenty. I still feel the urge…

I am a bit disturbed by collecting hobbies to be honest. When there is some novelty, archival or scientific value to a collection, that is different and fascinating, it's the purely consumerist collecting that gives me the heebie-jeebies. It's purely acquisitive and about the buying and getting and just seems quite sad and empty. Those afflicted become slaves to the companies pumping out items purely for this class o…

It's because the law of marginal utility, which states that the satisfaction derived from each additional unit of a good decreases as one consumes more, often doesn't apply to collecting because collectors derive pleasure from uniqueness and completeness.

Re: Let me tell you about me Gear Fabrication Syndrome

#152

Post by thih9 »

interroboink wrote: post #14
wodenokoto wrote: post #8

> Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS). A person’s insatiable urge to buy equipment for their art or hobby, distracting them from actually practicing said art or hobby. > It’s driven in part by the belief that new gear will improve one’s art or performance, e.g. I don’t sound like Jimi Hendrix because I don’t have the same effects pedal he used. Bit tangent, but I think one should just embrace it and say “my hobby is coll…

I like this take. Nobody thinks of stamp collecting as a problematic hobby. Collecting and curating is fun in its own right. Though I do think there can be another aspect at play; I often find myself collecting things that I think "might be useful". Eg: I have a ton of empty yogurt containers, for use in hypothetical future art projects. I do use them sometimes, but at this point I have plenty. I still feel the urge…

I feel like presenting yourself as a collector could work at most as an excuse for concerned friends and family.

A person with GAS does not enjoy collecting; they do end up collecting, but it's a side effect.

Re: Let me tell you about me Gear Fabrication Syndrome

#153

Post by TrapLord_Rhodo »

interroboink wrote: post #14
wodenokoto wrote: post #8

> Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS). A person’s insatiable urge to buy equipment for their art or hobby, distracting them from actually practicing said art or hobby. > It’s driven in part by the belief that new gear will improve one’s art or performance, e.g. I don’t sound like Jimi Hendrix because I don’t have the same effects pedal he used. Bit tangent, but I think one should just embrace it and say “my hobby is coll…

I like this take. Nobody thinks of stamp collecting as a problematic hobby. Collecting and curating is fun in its own right. Though I do think there can be another aspect at play; I often find myself collecting things that I think "might be useful". Eg: I have a ton of empty yogurt containers, for use in hypothetical future art projects. I do use them sometimes, but at this point I have plenty. I still feel the urge…

There's a difference between collecting and preserving. Saving your old yogurt containers for a future use, is the later. In the same way you could save coffee grounds for growing mushrooms, Jars for growing sprouts, etc.

Buying artificially scarce dead trees isn't really the same.

Re: Let me tell you about me Gear Fabrication Syndrome

#154

Post by blechinger »

eternityforest wrote: post #28
wodenokoto wrote: post #8

> Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS). A person’s insatiable urge to buy equipment for their art or hobby, distracting them from actually practicing said art or hobby. > It’s driven in part by the belief that new gear will improve one’s art or performance, e.g. I don’t sound like Jimi Hendrix because I don’t have the same effects pedal he used. Bit tangent, but I think one should just embrace it and say “my hobby is coll…

But first, one should ask if the hobby is actually fun without the imagined success(Even if the imagined success is just an excuse for the hobby! Nobody said psychology always makes sense!). I used to do a lot of DIY software when I first got started, that I now deeply question the value of. I think without the imaginary payoffs, I would have only done about a quarter of it for fun. I don't use any of that code now,…

Waste is part of life. Especially waste as a byproduct of good faith attempts. Is it better to avoid creating waste? Yes, however; perfection is the enemy of progress, no one is clairvoyant, and best is conditional anyway.

My point is: you didn't do anything wrong. The mere fact you're thinking about it reveals you've grown wiser for the experience. Kudos, friend. Thanks for sharing.

Re: Let me tell you about me Gear Fabrication Syndrome

#155

Post by hellotheretoday »

mordae wrote: post #77

I have pretty severe GFS and one part of it is that once you understand what you are building, you don't really wish to finish it and continue on a more stimulating tangent. On the other hand, teaching others stuff that doesn't (by itself) stimulate you anymore gives you an opportunity to check the quality of your understanding and is also fun in itself. Another way to finish is to build a birthday gift and thus impo…

This is such a major problem! I have so many half finished projects because I got to the understanding portion and moved onto something more interesting.

Or perhaps I’m just coping and telling myself that to deny that I have really bad attention and impulsivity issues

Re: Let me tell you about me Gear Fabrication Syndrome

#156

Post by Someone »

wodenokoto wrote: post #22
Almondsetat wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> one should just embrace it and say “my hobby is collecting guitar gear, and my niche is things that Jimi Hendrix used or things that make sounds like he did” GAS is a form of delusion. You are asking people to “just” self-recognize and somehow self-fix their deeply rooted psychological problems.

I think I'm saying that collecting stuff isn't a deeply rooted psychological problem.

I think it’s deeply rooted, but only a problem because we live such safe lives.

It started as a deeply rooted necessity. If you want to get through a winter that you don’t know the severity of, you better have above-average stocks of food and wood, plus stuff to repair your home if a severe storm strikes, plus extra winter clothing in case the winter is truly severe or your house burns down, and you’ve got to flee to your family, a few days walking away.

Re: Let me tell you about me Gear Fabrication Syndrome

#157

Post by Thiez »

scruple wrote: post #136
Fluorescence wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a bit disturbed by collecting hobbies to be honest. When there is some novelty, archival or scientific value to a collection, that is different and fascinating, it's the purely consumerist collecting that gives me the heebie-jeebies. It's purely acquisitive and about the buying and getting and just seems quite sad and empty. Those afflicted become slaves to the companies pumping out items purely for this class o…

Steam libraries with hundreds or thousands of unplayed games. I do understand it, I think, but I'm glad I'm not afflicted.

Sometimes they sell bundles that include some games you want and some you don't care for.

Re: Let me tell you about me Gear Fabrication Syndrome

#158

Post by alright2565 »

eternityforest wrote: post #89
omnicognate wrote: post #27

"Syndrome", "guilt", "fear", "failed", "worse". It's a hobby. There's no wrong way to do it. Have a budget and do what makes you happy. If that's accumulating gadgets, accumulate with joy. It's not an illness. Another reason for what the article calls Gear Acquisition Syndrome, if not for Gear Fabrication Syndrome, is the nature of the learning curve for some things. For example, I'm learning electronics, slowly. Slo…

The wrong way to do a hobby is if it doesn't actually bring you or anyone else any happiness, which in extremely GAS/GFS cases seems to be possible. An Oscilloscope is a pretty reasonable thing even for a beginner, it's totally unnecessary but it does make things easier, it's something you'll probably actually use. I had GAS/GFS pretty bad when I first got into electronics. Most of the stuff I regret buying was all p…

I relate a lot with this. Especially cables--what an absolute nightmare, especially when you need to interface with commercial devices that have standardized on a different cabling standard!

I have learned about Mini-PV connectors, which are compatible with P=2.54mm headers and do not loosen up over time: https://www.mattmillman.com/info/crimpconnectors/dupont-and-...

> When I first saw a commercial install made of random Amazon modules, I thought "They shoulda made a PCB" and I had all these ideas.... but then I realized that when the random Amazon modules breaks, I can swap it in a few minutes, and fix it later if I want.

I can see this, and I've definitely created custom circuit boards for devices that I only need one of & would be straightforward to build with random modules.

But at the same time, for a commercial product or a product where quantities of > 10 exist, making a circuit board makes a lot of sense, introduces a lot of reliability and saves significant cost. It's really not hard anymore to make a PCB, and there's so much opportunity for error & poor connections when assembling things from Amazon crap.

Re: Let me tell you about me Gear Fabrication Syndrome

#160

Post by djmips »

bluescrn wrote: post #64
Zondartul wrote: post #55

A 3D printing hobby is basically GAS/GFS-as-a-hobby. You buy the cheapest printer, then print better parts for it, then you buy a second printer to print faster and with more quality, then you go on an ebay spree and buy a VORON kit to make your own, then you build a "mostly-printed CNC", lathe, plotter, laser cutter, and then you run out of room in your garage and start looking for a bigger house. It's a huge money…

Buy a Prusa, Skip most of the setup/tweaking/upgrading. Print things. Learn to design things to print.

The speed of the Voron and Bambu are pretty enticing.
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