Respect

While sorting things out at my parent’s house, I found a few items I made in high school shop class – a candelabra, a miniature anvil, and a center punch. My mother kept these mementos for me. I had all but forgotten about them. Mom was right, though. Seeing these things after so many years brought back memories. Mom saved nearly everything, but that’s not the point. Some things still have value. The candelabra may not be my best work, but the anvil can be used as a paperweight. And the center punch now has a place in my tool kit.

When I took shop, I mainly tried to complete the projects. I didn’t think too much about whether I would ever “use” what I learned in class. It turned out that mechanical drawing was useful both in college engineering classes and whenever I’ve done a DYI project. The guys who went on to careers in construction or as skilled tradesmen continued to develop what they learned in shop class, but most of us probably did not. I’m pretty good with saws, drills, and other basic carpentry tools, but I didn’t make my living with what I learned in shop class.

It seems to me taking shop can help people realize that they can make something if they want to or need to. At least it helped me find the confidence to try. To be honest, working with my dad and my grandpa also helped. I’ve also found the words of Yogi Berra to be true. “You can observe a lot just by watching.” In high school, we all had the opportunity to learn by watching our teachers. Unfortunately, recently it has become apparent that many people did not take full advantage of that opportunity.

We all attended math, science, English, history, language, music, physical education and other classes. Some of us learned things. Others just sat there. It occurs to me that the purpose of all this “instruction” wasn’t necessarily to develop mastery, but to teach people to respect the efforts of those who did. Many of us came to understand that there will always be someone who knows more or does something better, regardless of what we might want to believe. Not everyone can be good at everything. Some are good at working with their hands. Others can solve equations. Some can design things. Others can nurture people. There is much to be admired in the work of a skilled craftsman; just as much as in the work of a scientist, mathematician, writer, historian, musician, or linguist. One of my laments is that once upon a time, people respected experts. Taking shop class and other classes where I worked hard but never became an expert helped me to respect and value the work and opinions of those who are.

On the other hand, the internet era has spawned millions of half-baked “experts,” who have a false sense of what they know because they have “done their research.” Millions of people believe they know as much as persons who have spent years mastering their professions. TV commentators declare their opinions are just as valid as Nobel laureates or others with decades of experience in their field. Even those with irrelevant credentials and superficial knowledge believe their opinions are just as valid as those who have worked hard to acquire more comprehensive knowledge. And I’m leaving out a wide array of logical fallacies used by internet “experts,” sometimes known as conspiracy theorists.

We all should have learned that just as some people can build things and some cannot, some opinions are worth more than others. We should have learned more about what we don’t know, so we might remain humble and respectful of those who really know. But too many people know how to sound confident and certain, while others admit their doubts and uncertainties. It’s hard for quiet questioning to win out over bold assertions. We now have millions of people who disregard reality in favor of what makes them feel good. They seem certain, but what if they are wrong?

Meanwhile, those who respond to evidence and respect expertise are at a disadvantage. What can they possibly say to someone who believes with absolute certainty either that the world is flat, the Earth is 6000 years old, evolution doesn’t happen, the moon landings were staged, climate change and the pandemic are hoaxes, vaccines don’t work or are dangerous, masks are ineffective, or that Trump won the election? If a person has lost their comprehension of reality to this extent, how can they be reached? We can’t build a time machine, but if we could, they might go back to high school and see what they missed. I learned back then that if I didn’t know or couldn’t do a thing, generally my best option was to respect those who made that thing their life’s work. There is no substitute for knowing what we don’t know, and it shouldn’t take a doctorate to figure that out.