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Education and Money
Sep. 21st, 2009 03:55 pmLately, I've been seeing more and more really neat projects that people work on. Electronics projects that people have accomplished. Neat things they did with bits of hardware. Hacks where someone fashioned a hand-held device for playing console games from one video game system or another. All of the fantastic and amazing projects I saw at Burning Man. Beautiful bits of wood working, painting, etc. Abstract vehicles made into snails, couches, ducks, sailing ships, etc. All very very neat stuff.
But one thing that always strikes me about a lot of these things is how much money it requires. Getting access to the tools needed to make many of these things is VERY expensive. And the consumable supplies required are also often quite expensive. Getting into model airplanes has really showed me that. It costs a ton of money just to have the tools I need to actually work with these planes, let alone buy all the little parts I need to get a plane in the air and keep it there. Hobbies like model airplanes, electronics, metal works, etc. require a lot of money to get into, and quite a bit to keep going, as they require high costs in parts, etc.
I've also been realizing how expensive it is just to learn something artsy/craftsy/hacky/etc. You have the initial cost of entry where you buy your basic tools, and then you have to buy consumables for creating projects that you are guaranteed to break/destroy/use improperly, since you're going to be learning. Even things like painting and drawing have a cost to entry and maintenance costs to buy supplies. And what if you buy all the supplies to do something new, and find out you have no interest in it? That's expensive too!
It strikes me that many of these things that so many people in my current peer group take for granted are heavily influenced by class privileges. One friend had parents with sufficient money to buy them computer equipment that they could play with from the time they were 6 years old. Another had a father that had a PhD in mechanical engineering. Another grew up in a culture with lots of access to supplies and knowledge for various crafts like making clothing, wood-carving, etc.
Although I had perfectionism and such standing in my way of learning many of these things as a child, I also had limited access to the funds and knowledge required for these things. My father was a high-school drop-out, and my mother had an associates degree in accounting. Although there were many things they could teach me, they tended to be more practical things like how to maintain your car and stuff like that. We spent most of our money on education for my sister and I, so we had very little left over. There were a few times where we needed to go on welfare for a while, to make ends meet. Most of our clothes, toys, etc. were purchased at garage sales. Everything we got was used, from cars to bikes to clothes to silverware, etc. Going out to eat meant going to McDonald's. Christmas was about the only time that we "splurged" and bought completely "pointless" things.
By going to college, moving to California, and getting an awesome job, much of this has changed for me. My social network includes many brilliant and knowledgeable people and my income leaves a lot of room for discretionary spending. Many of the things that I've gotten into of late have only been possible due to these changes. Skateboarding, painting, rock climbing, model airplanes, etc. I've learned more about things I can do with computers and software because my social network now includes people I can talk to about such things. I can do things like build a model airplane because I know people that have ideas on how to do such things, and I have the money to buy the tools/supplies required..
Sure, there are other solutions to obtaining many of these things, but they tend to require social connections. Learning to scavenge for free or cheap tools/supplies for learning these sorts of arts/crafts/hacks/etc is a skill in and of itself. And frankly, you're still relying on being at least somewhat connected to someone with knowledge or money. Not everyone has such people in their lives or has any way of learning how to get access to such things.
It seems that some forms of creativity and know-how are a luxury that only the rich can afford. Or the socially well-connected.
It strikes me that there's something else going on here, as well. For example, creating one's own clothes and such is something that should be cheaper than going out and buying things. But in this consumerist culture, skills such as these are perhaps growing more rare amongst people. People are encouraged to buy a new thing, instead of making a new thing. And as that knowledge diminishes, it perhaps becomes more difficult to cheaply get into such things.
I'm not sure. I'm definitely seeing some really interesting patterns here, but it's not quite clear exactly what's going on yet.
What's your take on the connection between socio-economic class and creative skills?
But one thing that always strikes me about a lot of these things is how much money it requires. Getting access to the tools needed to make many of these things is VERY expensive. And the consumable supplies required are also often quite expensive. Getting into model airplanes has really showed me that. It costs a ton of money just to have the tools I need to actually work with these planes, let alone buy all the little parts I need to get a plane in the air and keep it there. Hobbies like model airplanes, electronics, metal works, etc. require a lot of money to get into, and quite a bit to keep going, as they require high costs in parts, etc.
I've also been realizing how expensive it is just to learn something artsy/craftsy/hacky/etc. You have the initial cost of entry where you buy your basic tools, and then you have to buy consumables for creating projects that you are guaranteed to break/destroy/use improperly, since you're going to be learning. Even things like painting and drawing have a cost to entry and maintenance costs to buy supplies. And what if you buy all the supplies to do something new, and find out you have no interest in it? That's expensive too!
It strikes me that many of these things that so many people in my current peer group take for granted are heavily influenced by class privileges. One friend had parents with sufficient money to buy them computer equipment that they could play with from the time they were 6 years old. Another had a father that had a PhD in mechanical engineering. Another grew up in a culture with lots of access to supplies and knowledge for various crafts like making clothing, wood-carving, etc.
Although I had perfectionism and such standing in my way of learning many of these things as a child, I also had limited access to the funds and knowledge required for these things. My father was a high-school drop-out, and my mother had an associates degree in accounting. Although there were many things they could teach me, they tended to be more practical things like how to maintain your car and stuff like that. We spent most of our money on education for my sister and I, so we had very little left over. There were a few times where we needed to go on welfare for a while, to make ends meet. Most of our clothes, toys, etc. were purchased at garage sales. Everything we got was used, from cars to bikes to clothes to silverware, etc. Going out to eat meant going to McDonald's. Christmas was about the only time that we "splurged" and bought completely "pointless" things.
By going to college, moving to California, and getting an awesome job, much of this has changed for me. My social network includes many brilliant and knowledgeable people and my income leaves a lot of room for discretionary spending. Many of the things that I've gotten into of late have only been possible due to these changes. Skateboarding, painting, rock climbing, model airplanes, etc. I've learned more about things I can do with computers and software because my social network now includes people I can talk to about such things. I can do things like build a model airplane because I know people that have ideas on how to do such things, and I have the money to buy the tools/supplies required..
Sure, there are other solutions to obtaining many of these things, but they tend to require social connections. Learning to scavenge for free or cheap tools/supplies for learning these sorts of arts/crafts/hacks/etc is a skill in and of itself. And frankly, you're still relying on being at least somewhat connected to someone with knowledge or money. Not everyone has such people in their lives or has any way of learning how to get access to such things.
It seems that some forms of creativity and know-how are a luxury that only the rich can afford. Or the socially well-connected.
It strikes me that there's something else going on here, as well. For example, creating one's own clothes and such is something that should be cheaper than going out and buying things. But in this consumerist culture, skills such as these are perhaps growing more rare amongst people. People are encouraged to buy a new thing, instead of making a new thing. And as that knowledge diminishes, it perhaps becomes more difficult to cheaply get into such things.
I'm not sure. I'm definitely seeing some really interesting patterns here, but it's not quite clear exactly what's going on yet.
What's your take on the connection between socio-economic class and creative skills?
