The Heart of Craftsmanship

Technology and tools have enabled humans to gradually evolve from intelligent primates to wise humans.

Fire is the earliest technology of mankind. As far back as Greek mythology, Prometheus created humans, but the almighty Zeus refused to give humans fire. Prometheus stole fire from heaven for humans, so that humans could begin the process of civilization. However, in the real world, prehistoric humans evolved with fire and other natural tools for hundreds of thousands of years before they had the behavior and brain foundation that could give birth to civilization, as well as corresponding man-made tools, such as writing. From primitive people to modern people, the changes in physiological structure are the most significant, and the differences in behavior and lifestyle can only be inferred based on the archaeological clues that have survived. But one thing we can be sure of is that it is precisely because of the power of tools, especially the technology behind the tools, that humans have been able to transform from smart primates to wise humans .

Looking back over the three centuries since Newton's time, mankind has made tremendous achievements in applying mathematical and scientific thinking to the field of modern engineering. Not only have we connected the world with dense ocean and air shipping networks, but we have also connected everyone in the world through huge submarine optical cables and satellite communication networks. Not only have we sent humans to the moon, but we have also sent probes carrying earth information out of the solar system. Not only do we have to reasonably explain the origin of the universe and mankind, but we have also cracked the code of life and are even seeking artificial intelligence that can surpass humans... However, in a speech in April 1963, Richard Feynman reminded us, "But if you mean that this is an age of science in the sense that in art, in literature, and in people's attitudes and understandings, and so forth science plays a large part, I don't think it is a scientific age at all ." Charlie Munger said that wise people should draw on the most basic spirit of natural science, "connect what you read with the basic concepts proved", "connect the answers (to the problem) with orderly deep theories" to make their minds orderly and organized. Regarding people's attitudes and understanding, especially when you are doing something completely new, Elon Musk also said that borrowing from physics can be very useful.

As for the level that these wise humans can achieve, we cannot demand that everyone can master "celestial mechanics" to the same level as Laplace. However, in the face of life under today's global science and technology economy, the image of people shaped by the education system and social common sense that is still under the industrial economy has become increasingly difficult to adapt. The image of people in science and technology culture is Fuller's comprehensive designer , the wandering cowboy and long-term hunter in the "Global Overview" , hackers, technology entrepreneurs, and geeks... The most important thing is that they embrace technology, transform tools, and actively reshape the world around them. They use technology to interpret the meaning of self-transformation and the transformation of all mankind, so we have the ubiquitous digital life today. Although this is still not the scientific age in Feynman's eyes, it is indeed an era of science. As for the new image that smart humans can evolve in scientific life, the enlightenment brought by the craftsman's attitude is also worth our consideration.

Human adaptation to technology and refined craftsmanship metaphor of human image

Technology creates tools, and people use tools to make handicrafts and create works of art. Before the great development of technology, people always had enough time to understand tools, refine skills, and even form culture for specific tools - there is boxing, swords have kendo, books have calligraphy, tea has tea art... It was not until 1802 that the word "technology" from ancient Greece was re-used. Obviously, people were not prepared for the large-scale influx of technological products in life since the Industrial Revolution, so there was the "Luddite Movement" that emerged in 1811 , and there was also the "University Bomber" operation started by Kaczynski in 1978. Since 1860, Amish pastors have begun to pay special attention to the survival pressure caused by technological tools from modern society. In order to maintain their unique religious life, the Amish chose a very slow and strict way to accept technological tools. However, the cost of lagging behind the current civilization for more than 50 years is something that ordinary people cannot afford.

Unfortunately, the mechanical assembly line work and the stereotyped clerical system since the industrial society, as such an economy expands to the fields of education and personal life... have led to people's concept of work and life being full of materialistic descriptions. This may be a necessity for "rational people", but it is not necessarily the original intention of humanism, because the economy of the industrial age requires people to become such consumers. In order to avoid becoming a puppet carefully shaped by the products of Pavlov's research, to get rid of Orwellian fears, and to preserve and maintain his own personality, Stewart Brand created the "Global Overview" to pursue the development of small tools, higher consciousness, and rural cooperation. He used the tone of cybernetics and technological changes to inject new interpretations into personal destiny and provide tools for the development of personal power. This image of the individual is exactly the original intention of the pioneers of the digital world to open up the technological culture. But for ordinary people like us, are we really good enough to master these technological tools? Are we really sure that we can become the masters of the objects in our hands?

Richard Feynman reminds us that although the tools in our hands and our understanding of the physical world can be very scientific, the application of knowledge in people's minds and in real life is far from that. On the other hand, although Ohm's law is universally applicable, facing the problem of car spark plug ignition, this wide practicality may not be as effective as the unique phenomena and their hidden causes that people directly obtain through observation. The problem lies in the thinking and attitude we are trained to be consumers consumed by the industrial economy, or independent individuals who actively use technological tools and truly own their lives? For thousands of years, the excellent insight of craftsmen has driven them to do good work spontaneously, and the polishing of their skills to refine their own skills has ensured that they can do good work . In contrast to us who use the same tools, the reason is definitely not that the tools are not powerful enough, but that the works created by ordinary people using technological tools for their work and life are often not as good as we think.

Entering the world of sushi, "How can I make it more delicious?" Jiro Ono said that this is what he thinks about every day. But first, "If you don't know the best ingredients and the best taste, you can't imitate or get close to it even if you want to." Learn and identify the properties of the raw materials themselves, practice and taste the production process of integrating various raw materials into finished sushi, and control the heat of ingredients and utensils, and take care of the workshop carefully, so that the air can finally be integrated into the sushi rice. A chef has devoted himself to making sushi for decades. He said that everything is just continuous practice and learning, turning the accumulated skills into "care" for customers. Therefore, once people take the right attitude, really get involved, and use sufficient enterprising spirit to continuously realize good works in work and life, the scene of life should be different. In other words, we are far from polishing ourselves enough, and this is what the masters of tool culture are most worthy of our learning.

In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Persig explains craftsmanship this way, "As one works on a motorcycle, one's understanding of it changes moment by moment, and one gains a new understanding, one that is more qualitative." It is critical to be able to step outside of our own fixed thinking and attitudes and realize that the facts we hold about motorcycles in our lives are not set in stone. Like our own physiological systems, a motorcycle is a system, a system of ideas made up of a set of steel parts. A motorcycle cannot be fully understood simply by analyzing its components and their functions, but the best way to learn is to put those parts together yourself. Being the owner of your own things means focusing on practice, actively participating in and refining skills, and affirming the value of the practical work of building, repairing, and regularly maintaining things. This is also our sense of responsibility to ourselves. If we can pay careful attention to what we see and what we do, we can eliminate the emotional reactions caused by external attitudes in our minds. Only this kind of true emotional investment can enable humans to continue to make individual and collective progress in the integrated structure that co-evolves with technology.

From rationality to excellence, further interpreting the development of personal power

In fact, I hope I have enough knowledge of ancient Greece to understand the philosophical concepts in Pirsig's book, and I also hope I have enough kitchen experience to appreciate the cooking content explained by Jiro Ono. But more importantly, I hope that I can maintain the integrity of my personality while using various technological tools. This is exactly what craftsmanship and technological culture are concerned about. Since the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, humanism and rationality have entered human civilization as people's basic common sense and the cornerstone of modern social structure. During this period, it has experienced the Age of Exploration and the French Revolution, and then to the two world wars. In the past, this kind of cognitive progress in the concept of human beings was always accompanied by disasters in civilization. People in industrial society are rational. Large-scale production has a large-scale education system to train people to obey from an early age. The global market also needs the ubiquitous Pavlovian conditioned reflex to create consumer demand in people's minds... Such a rational era that only by giving up one's own personality can one survive is indeed oppressive.

At the same time, the disciplines that explain human behavior are still developing. Take psychology as an example. Descartes' rational dualism opposes reality to the mind and the external world. Early psychological research also followed this logic and formed Skinner's behaviorism and Freud's psychoanalysis. It was not until the rise of humanism after World War II and the introduction of Darwin's theory of evolution that we truly understood that "Brain is Mind. " and established the view that human behavior is also the result of evolution. In addition, game theory has rewritten the foundation of the modern economic system. The progress of evolution in the environment and ecology has made us realize that the diversity of human individuals is indeed meaningful. The continuous evolution of information theory and cybernetics and decades of technological innovation has finally established our current digital economy.

Therefore, the continued development of a reasonable explanation of man and human society will certainly rewrite the outdated image of man in our education and social common sense, and ultimately enable us to adapt to a social structure that is more suitable for the accelerated development of science and technology and the co-evolution of humans and such technology. Fuller's comprehensive designer predicted such an existence that can turn all human talents and all technologies from killing to survival. He will teach us to truly respect the integrity of individuality, enable us to be truly responsible for ourselves , and enable us to be more outstanding as a person.

When the counterculture began to fight against industrial society, the Global Overview had already realized the significance of developing personal power - although the individual could not be outside the "system", he could be in it to save the system. "This personal power is used to receive education, find inspiration, shape the environment, and share his adventures with anyone who is interested." At that time, these pioneers erected a brand new image of man - he went from one task to another, obtained information, and used technological tools in an experimental way, ultimately to achieve the progress of himself and society. But the topic of personality integrity is still a very difficult issue for ordinary people like us now. The previous social common sense and education training issues are one aspect, and the additional possibilities brought by the good use of technological tools are another aspect. What is most easily overlooked is our own attitude and degree of involvement, because society will always naturally oppose us to do what we like. The understanding brought by craftsmanship makes me confident in the image of future people and the co-evolution of humans and technology.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.