this is such a hilarious distinction to me. I have a degree in mechanical engineering, have built ROBOTS/helped start the nodebots movement, AND I'm a prolific crafter of all sorts.
lemme tell y'all a few things about my experience. (thread)
lemme tell y'all a few things about my experience. (thread)
for one thing, I am adamant that crafting IS engineering. I have openly said in multiple podcasts that the reason I choose to pursue mechanical engineering is because it's basically arts and crafts with big machines.
As a sewist with the added benefit of a straight-up degree in building big machines, I can tell you that constructing a garment requires as much careful thought, planning, execution, and iteration as building a robot.
I'm making a skirt right now. In the process, I have drafted a pattern (schematic), sewn up multiple muslins (prototypes + testing), sourced all my fabric and notions (materials), and will be constructing the final version (production-ready) later this week.
Recently, I was hanging with some college friends, also MechEng. One has been building a hovercraft for several years now; he's almost done. We all ooh'd & ahh'd while he talked about his construction process and materials, pointing out where he messed up and what he was proud of
Not a week later, I was at my patternmaking class, where a woman showed off her latest garments. Y'all. The *exact same conversation* happened there as well. instead of talking about wood, we talked about fabric. instead of apoxy, we talked about interfacing.
it. was. the. same.
it. was. the. same.
it's a shame our society doesn't treat crafting as engineering.
folks talk about a "pipeline" problem and how we "need more people in STEM."
but - and we've been saying this for ever - we're already here and we've been here the whole. damn. time.
folks talk about a "pipeline" problem and how we "need more people in STEM."
but - and we've been saying this for ever - we're already here and we've been here the whole. damn. time.
in sum:
use your hands. build cool stuff. I don't care what materials you use (even software counts!), but get out there and *make* things.
and then break them. and iterate on them.
that, my friends, is all you need to be a maker.
</thread>
use your hands. build cool stuff. I don't care what materials you use (even software counts!), but get out there and *make* things.
and then break them. and iterate on them.
that, my friends, is all you need to be a maker.
</thread>
