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The Joy of Tinkering
I’ve just come across Vadim Kravcenko’s post Habits of Great Software Engineers where he gives opinions the habits of highly effective developers. It’s an interesting read, you should all check it out. I like the fact that what he has to say goes beyond the lines of code that we inevitably have to write as developers.
Point 3: The Joy of Tinkering really resonates with me because that’s exactly my plan for 2024.
What’s a Tinkerer?
Since I’m based in Spain, and most of my connections on here are probably Spanish, I take issue with the fact that several online translation services translate the English “tinkerer” to the Spanish “chapucero”. Maybe I’m wrong, but the “chapucero” has connotations of poor and shoddy workmanship and bodge jobs. It makes me think of rushed and poor quality work.
This really doesn’t fit with the English meaning of tinkerer for me. Being a tinkerer is really all about experimenting, breaking and fixings things. Maybe this translation comes from the fact that the Marvel comic villain the Tinkerer is translated as “Chapucero”. But here’s an excerpt from the Wikipedia article for the Tinkerer:
The Tinkerer is generally depicted as a genius in engineering who is able to create gadgets and other devices from nothing more than spare parts left over from ordinary household appliances.
That doesn’t sound like it fits the bill of a “chapucero” to me.
I’d recommend that you all start trying to tinker more.
If you’re looking for ideas or inspiration then I’d recommend these two resources:
My plan for the rest of the year is going to be trying to tinker a lot more. I want to explore things that pique my interest and really get my hands dirty. If you want to join in and follow along then subscribe to my newsletter.
It’s been a short one today, but for now I leave you with this thought:
Learn how things work, learn what they do, learn how to break them and then learn how to fix them.