So today my car battery died, couldn't even be revived with a jump. I was able to walk to an auto store to get tools and a new battery (damn that mfer was heavier than I expected). I had never had to replace my own car battery before.
I screwed the fastener nuts the wrong way for like 5 minutes, cut my hand, and ultimately accidentally crossed the positive and negative terminals with a wrench that exploded in sparks. I don't even know what stopped me from being electrocuted but I didn't feel a thing.
While I'm happy I was able to take care of it myself and will be able to in the future, I also feel like such a dunce for not knowing wtf I was doing and almost shocking myself
I dunno how people learned 30+ years ago... families passing along info, friends maybe. nobody in my family knows shit, except calling whoever has money and getting them to throw money at poor people until the problem is no longer present.
I left home like about 20 years ago and became curious how to keep my shit from falling apart when some critical machine, appliance or mechanism stopped working and I only had $30 to my name. learned stuff from coworkers, helped them work on their own orojects as an extra pair of hands in exchange for their knowledge. once YouTube became a thing, that's been real good.
I took some adult Ed. "shop" type of class at a local agriculture school. that was riveting. I still watch YouTube videos for stuff though.
its a real pain to sort through all the AI slop though nowadays.
I think as we settle into imperial decline and become intermittently disconnected from various supply chains.... having curiosity and an attitude for tinkering is going to be crucial as communities contract into some kind of neo-mannorialist/resiliency-based whatever the fuck.
my family still doesn't know shit about fuck and they all seem to refuse to learn anything, treating me like I'm some kind of eccentric throwback for trying to muddle my way through problems and understand mechanisms.
I am perennially disappointed and frustrated by their incurious approach to the world.
I find people who want to at least try to understand a problem and explore their DIY options to be kindred spirits and fast friends.
Tinkering is fun! And if I'm using something with any frequency I'm curious as hell how it works.
Here's David Lynch showing off his homemade phone holder for filming with an iPhone and talking about pretty much what you said
https://youtu.be/ZqD4aq2Y8Ho
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
Yeah I moved away from family and close friends for the first time like 4 months ago, I spent my entire life within an hour drive.
I think that's partially why I feel bad for not knowing these things. Shit feels like its hitting the fan and at some point you really do need to be able to rely on yourself.
I wouldn't feel bad, we all start somewhere and it's a continual, slow process of learning how new things work, repurposing old things to serve new needs, and one is never done learning.
if I had any advice it's to cultivate patience with yourself as you learn, because if you do you can become exceptionally talented/knowledgeable as you incrementally grow your capacity.
learning in these situations can be extremely frustrating, especially if it doesn't solve the way you needed it to. but you learn what doesn't work, what's a "dead end" and that's just as important too.
books, and talking to people, and a slightly more functional school system