DIY - Is it simply beyond certain people? Discuss.

[Grumps]

I'm posting this in mind of a certain ongoing topic where the OP has already got a bit 'arsy' for no apparent reason.

Neighbour of mine. He's a retired G.P. One son is a Barrister. The other is an Accountant. Lovely people but they just haven't got a clue. The only one with even a modicum of ability is the wife/mother who grew up as a Farmer's daughter in Ireland.

The other Sunday I get a phone call. They, all of them, are trying to assemble a Bosch Leaf Blower/Collector that they had bought.

Although, I must admit, that even with reading the (sparse) instructions, it flummoxed me for a good ten minutes or so.

However, it did give me the opportunity to sew the seeds in the minds of the sons that perhaps their parents, at their age, warranted an Automatic Garage Door opener. They know I'll fit it. They just need to pay for it.

I know everyone here tries to help out where they can but I have noticed instances where the amount of instruction required/expected is so simplistic, that one has to start thinking, "Is it better not to bother?"

[joinerjohn]

My older brother has a degree in Physics. Undoubtedly a very clever chap, but simple DIY tasks elude him. Years ago he decided to buy all new internal doors (the eggshell type) for the house he used to live in. Managed to get one hanging, but phoned me up saying "it's impossible to get the door handles to stay on." I drove down the following weekend, to find, he'd hung it with the lock block on the hinge side. To get the door to close (something like) he'd planed , and planed, and planed. Didn't know to put a leading edge on the door, so when the door closed, there was a lovely gap on the closing side (yeah ,, just over 1/4 inch) However, as he was having fitted carpets put down a few months later, he'd decided to cut about an inch off the bottom of the doors. Had he not cut anything off, there would have been a gap of about 1/2 inch.

[Someone-Else]

Regarding the doors, I admit, I did not know there was a right side and a wrong side of a door when it comes to hanging it, that is why we got a chippy in when we had 5 done, he told me then about the right and wrong side. I also didn't know that in general the bathroom door is smaller than a bedroom door.

But back to the question, I think its a lack of common sense. In a way I dread getting old (ok, older) as there seem to be very few apprentices to learn trades and wiv ppl doin txt speek as the "norm" I don't hold much hope for the future.
Bloke I knew, used to sell ice cream, things were getting bad, his wife came home one day and found him dead lying in a pool of hundreds and thousands, he topped himself.

[Chemfree]

Even within my own family we have minds that work in totally different ways;the scientific pigeonhole brain;the lateral artistic brain....dunno what mine is...
"think in pictures brain"!?
Simple tasks can often be far too complicated for some of the intellectual set,but your case study may be a classic example of "the haves",who generally haven`t had to do too much menial stuff.I may remain one of "the have-nots" because I enjoy tinkering with junk that holds no particular monetary value.
Previous life in car,motorcycle and agricultural vehicle trades ,rarely had me using a workshop manual.Talk about making an easy job complicated!!

[Chemfree]

Regarding the doors, I admit, I did not know there was a right side and a wrong side of a door when it comes to hanging it, that is why we got a chippy in when we had 5 done, he told me then about the right and wrong side. I also didn't know that in general the bathroom door is smaller than a bedroom door.

But back to the question, I think its a lack of common sense. In a way I dread getting old (ok, older) as there seem to be very few apprentices to learn trades and wiv ppl doin txt speek as the "norm" I don't hold much hope for the future.
Bloke I knew, used to sell ice cream, things were getting bad, his wife came home one day and found him dead lying in a pool of hundreds and thousands, he topped himself.

Humour is a good case in point.The person I live with just wouldn`t get your old icecream vendor joke.She laughs her head off if something untoward happens to someone though.

[big-all]

what we need to remember is we are all different
there is no such thing as thick just different
peoples brains all work differently
some off the supposedly more intelligent seem as thick as 2 short planks
all this actually means is we all have different skills and the flawed measuring system favors the ones that comply to the standard measuring system the closest
a professor or academic are no more intelligent they just focus more into a much smaller area or specialize but are assumed to be more intelligent because off the marking system but in fact are far less versitille and fairly useless in the real world

[DIY_Johnny]

what we need to remember is we are all different
there is no such thing as thick just different
peoples brains all work differently
some off the supposedly more intelligent seem as thick as 2 short planks
all this actually means is we all have different skills and the flawed measuring system favors the ones that comply to the standard measuring system the closest
a professor or academic are no more intelligent they just focus more into a much smaller area or specialize but are assumed to be more intelligent because off the marking system but in fact are far less versitille and fairly useless in the real world

If you have an academic background you often over complicate things and don't see the "wood from the trees" so to speak.

As regards intelligence, well that can be directly measured (as defined by accepted standards) but it focuses on spacial and logical reasoning. There is no account of creativity or imagination in the broader sense. This is where a smart person can seem like a total numpty when it comes to DIY

[Timllfixit]

I concur with previous posters. There are some people(quite a lot actually) who aren't in the least bit practical but have talents in other directions. My dad grew up on a farm, but was totally useless with anything remotely practical(Upon being given a screwdriver he would enquire as to which way to turn it!) but was a genius at music, and head of music at a local school for 30 years. I seem to be more like my grandad, as I have no musical talent whatsoever(although I can play the fool...............no? . OK) but am moderately successful at a wide variety of practical activities such as car maintenance, electrics, BASIC wood work(but I am learning) metal work, light engineering and generally mending stuff.
I'm sure some people can do it, but don't have the time or inclination, and are"money rich but time poor" as the saying goes, and so pay folks to do it for them. I have to do this with the car these days as my Galaxy is all computers and not fixable by the side of the road as in days of yore.
Unfortunately a lot of stuff isn't even fixable, or worth fixing these days but don't get me started on that...............

[kellys_eye]

Intelligence doesn't always equate to aptitude - it's knowing when you're in above your depth and realise it's time to call it quits/get the pro's in that separate the wheat from the chaff.

[wine~o]

Is it simply beyond certain people? Discuss.


Thankfully ... Yes...

Otherwise half of us would be unemployed...

[frisbie]

I suggest academics attend winter DIY courses. For us plebs, DIY comes easy because of our vocational background. I have seen a few professionals who have taken this route and because the training is thorough and doesn't cut corners they became proficient, with an ability to think laterally.