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> There are some carpenters who just work on bulding houses; others who work
> just on building hi-rises (mostly building plywood forms and placing steel
> bars inside the forms for reinforcing concrete). And still others who focus
> on hanging doors, installing cabinets and shelves, and attaching baseboards.
> Each is a specialized carpentry skill and knowledge area and the people
> involved work with various "SMEs" of other fields. And the more they know
> about what the other trades need from them, the more skilled and highly
> valued they become.
Your post gave me some personal insight: I value diversity in
tech-writing because of my father.
My Dad was a Yorkshire boy who escaped the coal mines by being
apprenticed to a painter. When he came to Canada, he built the home I
grew up in. He learned carpentry and plumbing from his father-in-law,
and taught himself wiring, carpentry and all the other skills he needed.
He built two trailers, two motorhomes, a garage and two houses, as well
as countless bookshelves and other pieces of furniture, although he only
had the equivalent of an 8th grade education. I've used the computer
desk he gave me for a birthday twelve years ago, and I'm sitting at it
now. With this sort of example in front of me as I grew up, how could I
possibly value specialization?
He died three days ago, and I've been thinking about him a lot, as you
might expect. But until I read this message, I didn't realize how much
of a model he was for me. I may not work with my hands (except at the
keyboard), but I did learn to be a generalist. Thanks for pointing that
out to me.
--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com
"I breathe too heavy and I blow too hard
And I stay when I should run
But I won't settle for anything less
'Till I've seen what your love has done."
-The Mollys, "Look What Your Love Has Done"
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