Thank you Hadden. I live with this struggle everyday of my professional life. I'm a bookbinder who primarily follows the English handcraft binding tradition. I mainly work on repair commissions and rebinding older works that people keep for sentimental reasons. I've never had the benefits of training under the direction of an older craftsperson, since none were left in the trade in my area when I decided to try my hand (I'm in my late 30's and do not know of anyone younger than me practicing the trade in my region of the U.S.). I've relied heavily on historical literature & manuals, how-to videos on the web, and blogs & articles by other bookbinders internationally. I feel completely inadequate to pass my meager experience on to anyone who might come asking for it, and I often encounter tools and equipment that have purposes and functions I cannot describe because techniques have been discarded or forgotten. Many "trade secrets" have been kept intentionally vague down through history to preserve their lucrative benefits for tradespeople who assumed their skills would always be in demand. So much knowledge has been lost in the handcraft trades.
The internet has, ironically helped me find pieces of this discarded knowledge, but it can't make up for the loss of muscle-memory and patient teaching that are vital for building confidence in new tradespeople. I think a vital aspect of preserving analogue knowledge is taking part in associations or communities that actively try to educate the next generation to learn and love such skills. I've been apart of clubs, groups for hobby enthusiasts, parishes, and historical societies where there was no transmission of ideas because the older and younger generations had no dialogue with one another. The nurturing relationships that may have been natural at one time don't seem natural or necessary to most people today. Culture will need to find a new way to self-replicate before cultural memories can be passed on. Thank you for your timely warning.
As a millennial, I completely relate! It really sucks to have to be so self-guided in learning. But don't let your lack of confidence stop you from teaching others. I'd take you as a teacher, over having to figure something out completely on my own. I'm tired of teaching myself.
The sad thing is, we don't have elders to pass on folk knowledge and handcraft. Most of that died out with the Silent Gen. So thank God for YouTube, podcasts, and the Foxfire books.
My grandmother was famous for her canned peaches and canned salmon. None of her ten boomer kids were interested in carrying on the tradition. So when I wanted to learn in my 30s, I had no teacher. Thanks to YouTube and books, I figured it out. But it sure would have been nice if a real person taught me in person.
I wanted to learn foraging. I didn't know a single person who could teach me despite my 20 boomer aunts and uncles and vast community. I went to books, YouTube, and took a very expensive nine-month class taught by two gen Xers. My schooling emphasized intellectual development, money management, and careerism rather than handcraft or folk knowledge.
Ironically, I too have acquired most of my folk knowledge from the Internet. The Internet taught me the art of fermentation, pine needle basketry, crochet, foraging, generative agriculture techniques, medicine making, soap making, and what breed of chickens do well in my region. On a positive note, if someone wants to know these things, they can learn from me - a real person. It feels good that I have the knowledge to pass on. It feels like an act of healing actually. Even if I feel my skills are meager, it really is better than nothing. I teach foraging classes now. People think I'm an expert, because compared to them, I am. And so are you.
I feel your pain too. There was a sense of sadness I felt on this orchard visit I mention in the essay. My wife and I were the youngest people there by far - yet very few of the group came up and talked to us. One must be proactive it seems in trying to attain this knowledge...
You also highlight something I hadn't thought of Alissa: that the internet has become a great tool for self-learning. Though one hopes that direct person to person transfer and mentorship continues.
Thank you so much for sharing this Peyton, you are doing an excellent and much needed service. One which I admire.
I can relate to the fact that often the elderly and the young have no direct dialogue. We experienced this on the orchard visit I mention in the essay. Despite being the youngest in attendance by quite some margin, very few of the elderly folk came up to speak with us. It was rather sad as we are very keen to learn about this craft. There sadly seems to be a bit of an inner circle in some of these old crafts and hobbies. Perhaps this is a protective mechanism to keep modern ideas and negative change out - but it also serves as a barrier for knowledge transfer. Then again, perhaps one needs to prove themselves worthy of the knowledge before it is passed down to them...
I am a literature major of that generation. Many literary quotes and references live in my memory that do not come up with an online search. Most people will never know the depth of their loss. Also, here's my piece today - https://morfmorford.substack.com/p/only-the-good-die-young
Lots of old crafts are close to disappearing. Thatching and Lace making being just 2. Yes! One would say “ there are books to read up about how”! Sadly there is nothing near as good as being taught by someone who really knows how it’s done. Brilliant article.
How about something like an un-conference? A setting where older/experienced masters could spend time sharing stories, strategies & skills across generations. I'd like to see it as direct, hands-on and affordable as possible...
It seems to me that one of the more destructive (and intentional, I would say) ways that our modern world has been structured is in the separating of the generations. There is so little value placed upon the older generations here in the US, and young people aren't taught that they have much to learn from those who have come before. In the meantime, our society at large has grown more fragmented, more alienated, as neighbour is pitted against neighbour in hypothetical political battles mediated through digital screens. Tribalist perspectives run rampant, while everyone shrinks into themselves rather than actually belonging to any real community -- any "tribe," you could say, ironically.
It seems to me that modernity has been shouting about the connectedness that is possible because of the internet and the damages of being too locally bound, while at the same time real community has atrophied, and screen-bound people everywhere have forgotten how to look their neighbour in the eye and say hello.
Thank you for raising this point, Hadden, and reminding us that the older generations in particular carry with them treasures which we will rue the loss of soon enough.
The discussions I have been having with my wife around this topic have ended upon the same point. There is a rift between the generations; somewhere a breakdown happened (perhaps after WW2?) and that rift has becomes progressively wider. And then as you say, enter in social media with its tribalism inducing algorithms - the last thing we need!
Absolutely true. I sat at the feet of a living library for over ten years. I learned to trap, hunt, fish...what the local plants were, what they offer us, and the trades that make the most of those relationships. I lived those skills for the next decade. Growing into them and learning which I was best at, which I loved most, and which I could pass down.
And now, starting my third decade on this path...no one wants to learn. They rather watch a youtube video on gardening than taste a wild growing leaf. What I know, what my teachers knew, what all of humanity knew for centuries will dissolve like foam after a crashing wave.
Wow... that last line of yours Neko hits hard. Painfully poignant and beautifully written.
Indeed, youtube seems to be the place to go now to learn - but youtube cannot teach all the nuance needed, cannot direct your hand when you are getting things wrong, and is anonymous and placeless.
I don't want to dismiss all the good youtube videos have done to those in positions where mentorship is impossible or unavailable, but it is a poor substitute for the hands on practical mentorship that you have experienced.
That is exactly right. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some content creators who are quite skilled. Many have impressed me and more than a few have taught me a thing or two. These people demonstrate the kind of embodied knowledge that you're talking about and those who truly "know" can recognize their peers instantly. But for every person like this I find online, there are scores who clearly just did some superficial research for the express purpose of making an online video. The facts they present lack all context and, in some cases, are wildly misinterpreted or just plainly wrong. (For instance, I saw one creator warn their viewers not to mistake burdock with the "identical" looking plant belladonna. In actuality, those two plants are as similar as an apple and a Ford F-150.)
What is so deeply frustrating about this is that the average viewer doesn't have the context to identify who is genuinely skilled and who (in my early 90s slang) would call a poser. More perniciously, this erodes the skill itself. When what you are learning isn't correct, not only are you propagating incorrect and possibly dangerous information, ultimately your very knowledge loses all connection to the real world. Instead of honing a real skill, we instead start developing what Baudrillard would call a "hyperreal" skill. Our knowledge becomes a decontextualized simulation of the real, purely virtual, and incredibly useless.
Thank you Hadden. I live with this struggle everyday of my professional life. I'm a bookbinder who primarily follows the English handcraft binding tradition. I mainly work on repair commissions and rebinding older works that people keep for sentimental reasons. I've never had the benefits of training under the direction of an older craftsperson, since none were left in the trade in my area when I decided to try my hand (I'm in my late 30's and do not know of anyone younger than me practicing the trade in my region of the U.S.). I've relied heavily on historical literature & manuals, how-to videos on the web, and blogs & articles by other bookbinders internationally. I feel completely inadequate to pass my meager experience on to anyone who might come asking for it, and I often encounter tools and equipment that have purposes and functions I cannot describe because techniques have been discarded or forgotten. Many "trade secrets" have been kept intentionally vague down through history to preserve their lucrative benefits for tradespeople who assumed their skills would always be in demand. So much knowledge has been lost in the handcraft trades.
The internet has, ironically helped me find pieces of this discarded knowledge, but it can't make up for the loss of muscle-memory and patient teaching that are vital for building confidence in new tradespeople. I think a vital aspect of preserving analogue knowledge is taking part in associations or communities that actively try to educate the next generation to learn and love such skills. I've been apart of clubs, groups for hobby enthusiasts, parishes, and historical societies where there was no transmission of ideas because the older and younger generations had no dialogue with one another. The nurturing relationships that may have been natural at one time don't seem natural or necessary to most people today. Culture will need to find a new way to self-replicate before cultural memories can be passed on. Thank you for your timely warning.
As a millennial, I completely relate! It really sucks to have to be so self-guided in learning. But don't let your lack of confidence stop you from teaching others. I'd take you as a teacher, over having to figure something out completely on my own. I'm tired of teaching myself.
The sad thing is, we don't have elders to pass on folk knowledge and handcraft. Most of that died out with the Silent Gen. So thank God for YouTube, podcasts, and the Foxfire books.
My grandmother was famous for her canned peaches and canned salmon. None of her ten boomer kids were interested in carrying on the tradition. So when I wanted to learn in my 30s, I had no teacher. Thanks to YouTube and books, I figured it out. But it sure would have been nice if a real person taught me in person.
I wanted to learn foraging. I didn't know a single person who could teach me despite my 20 boomer aunts and uncles and vast community. I went to books, YouTube, and took a very expensive nine-month class taught by two gen Xers. My schooling emphasized intellectual development, money management, and careerism rather than handcraft or folk knowledge.
Ironically, I too have acquired most of my folk knowledge from the Internet. The Internet taught me the art of fermentation, pine needle basketry, crochet, foraging, generative agriculture techniques, medicine making, soap making, and what breed of chickens do well in my region. On a positive note, if someone wants to know these things, they can learn from me - a real person. It feels good that I have the knowledge to pass on. It feels like an act of healing actually. Even if I feel my skills are meager, it really is better than nothing. I teach foraging classes now. People think I'm an expert, because compared to them, I am. And so are you.
I feel your pain too. There was a sense of sadness I felt on this orchard visit I mention in the essay. My wife and I were the youngest people there by far - yet very few of the group came up and talked to us. One must be proactive it seems in trying to attain this knowledge...
You also highlight something I hadn't thought of Alissa: that the internet has become a great tool for self-learning. Though one hopes that direct person to person transfer and mentorship continues.
Thank you so much for sharing this Peyton, you are doing an excellent and much needed service. One which I admire.
I can relate to the fact that often the elderly and the young have no direct dialogue. We experienced this on the orchard visit I mention in the essay. Despite being the youngest in attendance by quite some margin, very few of the elderly folk came up to speak with us. It was rather sad as we are very keen to learn about this craft. There sadly seems to be a bit of an inner circle in some of these old crafts and hobbies. Perhaps this is a protective mechanism to keep modern ideas and negative change out - but it also serves as a barrier for knowledge transfer. Then again, perhaps one needs to prove themselves worthy of the knowledge before it is passed down to them...
I am a literature major of that generation. Many literary quotes and references live in my memory that do not come up with an online search. Most people will never know the depth of their loss. Also, here's my piece today - https://morfmorford.substack.com/p/only-the-good-die-young
Straight outta Bradbury, that is.
Lots of old crafts are close to disappearing. Thatching and Lace making being just 2. Yes! One would say “ there are books to read up about how”! Sadly there is nothing near as good as being taught by someone who really knows how it’s done. Brilliant article.
How about something like an un-conference? A setting where older/experienced masters could spend time sharing stories, strategies & skills across generations. I'd like to see it as direct, hands-on and affordable as possible...
It seems to me that one of the more destructive (and intentional, I would say) ways that our modern world has been structured is in the separating of the generations. There is so little value placed upon the older generations here in the US, and young people aren't taught that they have much to learn from those who have come before. In the meantime, our society at large has grown more fragmented, more alienated, as neighbour is pitted against neighbour in hypothetical political battles mediated through digital screens. Tribalist perspectives run rampant, while everyone shrinks into themselves rather than actually belonging to any real community -- any "tribe," you could say, ironically.
It seems to me that modernity has been shouting about the connectedness that is possible because of the internet and the damages of being too locally bound, while at the same time real community has atrophied, and screen-bound people everywhere have forgotten how to look their neighbour in the eye and say hello.
Thank you for raising this point, Hadden, and reminding us that the older generations in particular carry with them treasures which we will rue the loss of soon enough.
Absolutely agree Joel.
The discussions I have been having with my wife around this topic have ended upon the same point. There is a rift between the generations; somewhere a breakdown happened (perhaps after WW2?) and that rift has becomes progressively wider. And then as you say, enter in social media with its tribalism inducing algorithms - the last thing we need!
Absolutely true. I sat at the feet of a living library for over ten years. I learned to trap, hunt, fish...what the local plants were, what they offer us, and the trades that make the most of those relationships. I lived those skills for the next decade. Growing into them and learning which I was best at, which I loved most, and which I could pass down.
And now, starting my third decade on this path...no one wants to learn. They rather watch a youtube video on gardening than taste a wild growing leaf. What I know, what my teachers knew, what all of humanity knew for centuries will dissolve like foam after a crashing wave.
Wow... that last line of yours Neko hits hard. Painfully poignant and beautifully written.
Indeed, youtube seems to be the place to go now to learn - but youtube cannot teach all the nuance needed, cannot direct your hand when you are getting things wrong, and is anonymous and placeless.
I don't want to dismiss all the good youtube videos have done to those in positions where mentorship is impossible or unavailable, but it is a poor substitute for the hands on practical mentorship that you have experienced.
That is exactly right. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some content creators who are quite skilled. Many have impressed me and more than a few have taught me a thing or two. These people demonstrate the kind of embodied knowledge that you're talking about and those who truly "know" can recognize their peers instantly. But for every person like this I find online, there are scores who clearly just did some superficial research for the express purpose of making an online video. The facts they present lack all context and, in some cases, are wildly misinterpreted or just plainly wrong. (For instance, I saw one creator warn their viewers not to mistake burdock with the "identical" looking plant belladonna. In actuality, those two plants are as similar as an apple and a Ford F-150.)
What is so deeply frustrating about this is that the average viewer doesn't have the context to identify who is genuinely skilled and who (in my early 90s slang) would call a poser. More perniciously, this erodes the skill itself. When what you are learning isn't correct, not only are you propagating incorrect and possibly dangerous information, ultimately your very knowledge loses all connection to the real world. Instead of honing a real skill, we instead start developing what Baudrillard would call a "hyperreal" skill. Our knowledge becomes a decontextualized simulation of the real, purely virtual, and incredibly useless.
Shake the dust off your shoes and walk away, it is in the Bible!
https://luth.org/conventions/