As we grow from enthusiastic amateurs into seasoned professionals in any field; one of the lessons that we (hopefully) learn is that less is more.
Part of what makes the zenith of the first climb of the Dunning-Kruger curve so sharp is that it its noble mountaineers often espouse the professional values of precision, effectiveness, and later, expedience and longevity. Manifest as snappy, oft’ self-authored, four or five star reviews and two year warranties.
Past the nadir of the curve we realise the inherent follies in many of those younger values. And so follows the emergence of the values of unobtrusiveness, invisibility, silence; a more holistic view of both attention to details and foresight… and sustainability as a more nuanced understanding of blunt longevity.
As a young man riding the (post 2k bubble) wave of “home and office” (now called domestic and commercial) IT solutions and services, I originally marketed my services as independent, advanced, local, comprehensive, and flexible. I’m proud to say I honoured those promises at the time. But a little thought reveals how tidily those values mesh with the simple yet noble values of the initial peak described above.
As the wave began to wash up on the shore; I found myself feeling more than a little unclean when I’d grin at reading of a new computer virus that was set to wreak havoc on people’s home computers; Gold Rush! And somehow, however effective and long lasting my initial solutions may have (had) been at the time, time itself had exposed some degree of jejune folly.
Flexibility too is a bit of a folly if one truly knows the exact solution to a problem. Why let the client delay or convolute the solution they’re paying for? Often handomely? Expedience still holds value; but it is ephemeral in the true Tortoise and Hare interpretation.
I spent a lot of my time landscaping (that’s the grey area between building and gardening) to fill in those lucrative, yet somewhat seasonal IT travails. For reasons that confounded me as a younger chap; it was considered (by my seniors) something of a sin to hire and use a cement mixer. Landscaping after all, is about forks and spades; and good, honest, back breaking work.
Today on this day of writing this entry; the (professional, high end) building site at the bottom of my garden (new school for 800 pupils) dutifully started making its daily clamour no later than 8am; in accordance with the policies of the Considerate Constructor’s Scheme. I’ve worked on that actual site myself for four months, last year. One of my neighbours has also been blasting away at their decking and / or patio with a domestic grade pressure washer; for two hours now. At this rate I estimate he should be through to London clay by Friday and China in time for Christmas.
Oh how I used to take pride in such “attention to detail”. Though, it, and I were more expedient with the power of a commercial-tier Karcher. Another neighbour, and my own father, have in recent years discovered the marvel of the 2kW motorised leaf-blower / sucker. Popularised by American films featuring hectare sized suburban gardens; they now entitle all UK sexagenarians and older to (remaining) lifetime membership of the Inconsiderate Gardener’s Scheme.
Top-tip rule-of-thumb for the novice gardener; if you can’t actually hear Monty Don on your DAB whilst gadening; you’re doing it wrong. And if you’re still apprenticing at sixty; it might be time to try jigsaws instead. NO, STEP AWAY FROM THE POWER TOOL AISLE.
I’ve long cultivated a mawkish fascination and delight in all things Japanese. An investigation into any of their disciplined crafts and practices; be it cuisine (think sushi), or horticulture (think ikebana), or joinery (think of the humble box plane and the scimitar-shaped tenon saw)… or even warfare(?) (ninja?) – the quality of, – and emphasis on – unobtrusiveness permeates. So too does the smooth sweeping hand strokes of the seasoned artisan ripple softly through so many distinct arts.
Here’s to the soft, gentle swishes and swoops of the box plane, the garden rake, the razor sharp knife or… if the noise becomes too much to bear; the sword?
Patio tip: with a stiff brush and some detergent you can scrub the tiles shiny and then simply hose down. Leave the Karchers to the boys at the car wash.
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