Learning to Repair My Busted TV Taught Me How to Love the Internet Again
Just because you can’t fix a new Apple laptop doesn’t mean you can’t fix anything
Ever since I was young, I’ve had the desire to do things on my own and make them last. I’m also frugal. I’ve got tools in my workshop that are well over 40 years old, my car just turned 30 and my Sorel Caribou boots are going into their 29th winter. I’m an engineer by training and I’ve spent the best part of two decades working on electronic control systems and embedded software, so I’m not afraid of or averse to tech in any way. I like to get my hands dirty, literally and figuratively.
But I’m not the first to notice that lately “tech” has changed. After seeing the impact that Facebook and Twitter have had on society this decade, I’ve come to believe that so much of the tech that seemed like such a boon just 20 years ago now seems like a net negative; one that is accelerating the end of civil society. This is especially true when these social media platforms are used by so-called influencers and narcissistic pseudo-visionaries and pseudo-populists to cultivate cults of personality.
And then there are the hardware companies churning out vast quantities of unrepairable devices with limited lifespans that are also often impractical or…
