Young people can no longer fix anything

[OakRidgeStars]

Generation Helpless.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science ... essor.html

[auctionsbywallace]

I would agree. It is the result of growing up in a disposable world. Everything must also be brand new.

[Reverenddel]

(shrugs) Some things are meant to be disposable. Some are not.

I can repair basic items, and generally rig something to work, but electronic items are NOT meant to be repaired, or else they wouldn't sell more.

In truth? I'm a flip-phone, Windows XP, Basic Cable kinda guy though.

[BertMacklin]

(shrugs) Some things are meant to be disposable. Some are not.

I can repair basic items, and generally rig something to work, but electronic items are NOT meant to be repaired, or else they wouldn't sell more.

In truth? I'm a flip-phone, Windows XP, Basic Cable kinda guy though.

This exactly, not sure how mending electronics, much of which involves trying to revive junk designed to break at appropriate intervals, can hold much a light to carpentry, plumbing, or engine repair. Hell, most of the people I know who think the're hot stuff with a paintbrush can't even get that right.

Can you imagine a "lost generation" who never knew the age old secrets of "turning a bottle of water into a lamp"? I feel this professor is part of the problem impressing somewhat novelty technical skills rather than practical.

[SHMIV]

These little novelty projects have their value, Bert. The idea is to get used to repurposing broken stuff. It gets the creative mind working, so that when something breaks, the mind goes back to the novelty project, and maybe you can draw from that experience to come up with a practical solution to the current problem.

I've come up with practical solutions drawn from projects that I have only read about.

View these projects as hands-on high school algebra exercises; I thought they were stupid until I suddenly realized that I was using those formulas at work, 3 years after I left school.

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[ShotgunBlast]

As a guy in his mid-30s, a lot of it had to do with my father saying things like "Go to college. Make some money working a good job. Pay someone to do it." I imagine a lot of people heard stuff like that growing up. As a result, instead of taking hands-on shop classes in school I did AP courses. A lot of good that's doing me now.

My wife and I built a tiny house this year. My uncle, the builder, spent a weekend to help us get a shell up. We then did the "easy" stuff and hired a carpenter to help with the not so easy stuff. I tell ya, being a carpenter's helper this summer really taught me a lot. Now I see little oddball things that I never would have thought about fixing and think "I can do that".

YouTube videos are also great to learn how to do things.

[mamabearCali]

I have to agree with shotgun. However the technology has some advantages in that those tinkering skills can be easily learned through the internet. I have learned to crochet and my husband had learned many automotive and carpentry skills from you tube.

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[Swampman]

A big part of the problem is the technology that has taken over. I used to be able to work on a car front to back. Now it's nearly impossible to do much else besides change belts, hoses, oil, plugs and other basic stuff. The days of working on an engine or tranny without a computer handy are gone.

Young people are at a distinct disadvantage these days.

[SHMIV]

I've been poor a lot. Been homeless multiple times. It's gotten better for me, the past couple of years, but it's been rough in the past.

Point is, if something needed fixing, I had to fix it. There was no other option. Anything that a poor man can have, that can be rigged, I have rigged it. And, usually, I've done better than a duct tape fix (though, like any self respecting redneck, I naturally keep duct tape on hand). When I first started fixing things, YouTube didn't exist. I was fortunate enough, though, to have some dial-up interwebs at my disposal.

I was just telling my son, over lunch, that he would do well to learn as many hands-on skills as he can. That will serve him well.

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[MarcSpaz]

A big part of the problem is the technology that has taken over. I used to be able to work on a car front to back. Now it's nearly impossible to do much else besides change belts, hoses, oil, plugs and other basic stuff. The days of working on an engine or tranny without a computer handy are gone.

Young people are at a distinct disadvantage these days.

I have been working on cars and motorcycles since about 1984 right up to today. You are 100% right. Computers run all this stuff and a regular Joe may not even have the knowledge or tools to reset and recalibrate a car's computer after changing spark plugs or a battery.

I spent close to $5,000 for a laptop, multiple handheld programers and professional tuning software for working on cars and bikes in the last few years. And the stuff you need is not universal. I bought software to work on my Mustang. It was $600 and it only works with my exact car. If I want to service another car, even the exact same year make and model, its another $600. My software for my Harley was another $140 for 1 bike.

And don't forget, you need to get training on how to use all this stuff. If you start messing with your closed loop idle fuel trim delta and you don't know what that does... you may not be driving that car for long.

What happened to the good old days when you stuffed a bigger jet in your carb and turned a distributor after doing a 60 minute cam swap? I liked my MSD ignition in my 78 NOVA.

I've been poor a lot. Been homeless multiple times. It's gotten better for me, the past couple of years, but it's been rough in the past.

Point is, if something needed fixing, I had to fix it. There was no other option. Anything that a poor man can have, that can be rigged, I have rigged it. And, usually, I've done better than a duct tape fix (though, like any self respecting redneck, I naturally keep duct tape on hand). When I first started fixing things, YouTube didn't exist. I was fortunate enough, though, to have some dial-up interwebs at my disposal.

I was just telling my son, over lunch, that he would do well to learn as many hands-on skills as he can. That will serve him well.

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You and I have so much in common its scary. Sounds like you're giving you boy some real solid advice too.

I remember, when I was just a bit younger, if I wanted a car... it meant buying a beater that didn't run or barely ran for anywhere between $70 and $350 and then fixing whatever was wrong with it. And if it broke, I had to fix it or I was walking again.

Same thing with my TV, stove, toilet, lawn mower, drywall ceiling, roof, door locks, and on, and on, etc...

My mother in-law highers a HVAC company to change the air filters in the house because she doesn't believe I know how and "wants it done right". I wish I had that kind of money.

[VACoastie]

I'll be honest, you won't find me working on my washing machine, dryer, fridge, dish washer should they crap the bed. But then again, our "gadgets" nowadays are more complex than they used to be as well.

I have no problem building anything I need though. Work benches, walls, fixing toilets, fixing the car, etc. I'll do that in a heartbeat.

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[SHMIV]

Oh, yeah, lol. Beater cars. I'm still in the mindset of seeking old beaters that can be worked on easily. Drives GF nuts.

I took a/c and refrigeration in high school. The teacher in that class would have us do irrelevant projects, just to teach us how to use the various tools. Part of that class package involved other classes that dealt with electronics and auto mechanics. I've probably benefited more from that than I did from the rest of my grade school career, simply because I learned to make stuff, and learned tools outside of basic hammer and screw driver.

When I was cutting grass for side money, I built my lawnmowers from broken mowers that were given to me. The only tools at my disposal were vice grips, basic pliers, and a pocket knife.

Being able to fix stuff like that gives you a great sense of accomplishment.

You know, for most home ac units, one doesn't need much training to change a filter. But, that's ok. My family is acutely aware of my skill set; in fact, I believe that they think I am more greatly skilled than I actually am. You wouldn't believe the projects that I have done for my family (don't get me wrong; I love my people, and doing for them gives me great pleasure).

But, lately, if anyone doubts my ability to tackle a project, that is fine by me. If they want to pay a "professional" $300 to change a fuse, or whatever, let 'em. I got plenty of my own projects, lol.

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[grumpyMSG]

Personally, I think it is much adieux about nothing. Kids are no less adaptive or ingenuitive than in the past. 20 years ago, adults turned to kids to program the VCRs, now they are adults and they turn to their kids to program their smart phones.

So a kid may not know how to rebuild an old carburetor, new cars haven't had once since somewhere around 1990 or earlier. Now you hook a diagnostic tool up to the vehicle, run a diagnostic test and it tells you what part to replace. In WWII, our Soldiers were challenged by the hedgerows of Normandy. An idea and some scrap steel gave them the ability to deal with the hedgerows. In Iraq it was the various IEDs, Soldiers and Marines have come up with multiple solutions to deal with the variety of them that have popped up.

[scott9050]

Personally, I think it is much adieux about nothing. Kids are no less adaptive or ingenuitive than in the past. 20 years ago, adults turned to kids to program the VCRs, now they are adults and they turn to their kids to program their smart phones.

So a kid may not know how to rebuild an old carburetor, new cars haven't had once since somewhere around 1990 or earlier. Now you hook a diagnostic tool up to the vehicle, run a diagnostic test and it tells you what part to replace. In WWII, our Soldiers were challenged by the hedgerows of Normandy. An idea and some scrap steel gave them the ability to deal with the hedgerows. In Iraq it was the various IEDs, Soldiers and Marines have come up with multiple solutions to deal with the variety of them that have popped up.

I have to agree with this. The first engine I ever rebuilt was the 302 in my 1990 Mustang. During that build I changed the cam to an E-303, put on Edelbrock heads and intake and had a generally good time with just a few hiccups from the EEC-IV computer. It was fun, but left something to be desired for an every day car.
The new Copperhead unit and 5.0 DOHC engine in my 2014 GT is light years ahead of that car in both term of speed, reliability and modability. I gained almost 4 full MPH in the 1/4 from just a simple e-mail tune. The exhaust is a simple bolt on affair with headers being the only real PITA. I love how technology has advanced to let me beat the super cars of 20 years ago.

[jdonovan]

I'll be honest, you won't find me working on my washing machine, dryer, fridge, dish washer should they crap the bed. But then again, our "gadgets" nowadays are more complex than they used to be as well.

and the repair parts themselves are much more expensive.

Mostly gone are the days of, if the washing machine won't run its a belt, motor capacitor, or a relay. Those things were simple to troubleshoot, and low-cost to fix.

Now a days it seems that every time an appliance goes out on the fritz its either board A or control module B, each one is $200 bucks, and a week to ship it to me. Or I can go down to the local mega-home center and get a new unit in the back of the pickup for $250 tonight.

I tried a few times on the $200 repair option, but a year later when another $200 module failed I didn't feel so ahead on the cost of repair vs replace.

What I have had luck with, is hunting craigs list for people who don't want an appliance because it doesn't match their kitchen. Then I can often find a new-ish device for 25% of new.