I was having a conversation recently with someone and we got onto the topic of how someone who’s smart and good at building things in software isn’t necessarily good at making or fixing hardware (by which I mean anything physical, including home improvements etc). I’m one of these people. It seems like many of the skills should be the same: the ability to visualise the desired end result, putting smaller pieces together to make the whole, the curiosity and intelligence to figure out how things work, the patience and concentration required to complete the job. But they are still different skills and both require different types of practice to get good at them.

Generally I believe that anyone can learn any skill if they’re prepared to practice. However there are many aspects of working with real physical things that I just plain don’t like and, when compared to software, annoy me too much. So I’ve never really been motivated to practice and get good at them. Continue reading →