The Maker State
William Gurstelle | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 2 pgs | 1 mb
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In a "nanny state:' somebody else - governments,
insurance companies, education administrators
- decides which projects makers may attempt and
which they may not. In the nanny state. experi-
menters and builders find themselves deprived
of the materials. tools, and information they need
to carry on their interests.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the "night
watchman state." Here, authorities try to keep thugs
off the street, keep the electricity on, and that's
about it. You're pretty much on your own.
Most of us prefer to live. work, and play some-
where in the middle. Let's call it the "Maker State."
In the Maker State, everyone takes reasonable
precautions and wears protective equipment. Safe
working practices, if thoughtfully incorporated into
the act of making things, can become a performance-
improving feature, just as athletes wear better
equipment to enhance their performance.
The Maker State provides freedom to attempt
projects on the edge. Still, laws of chance and sta-
tistics ensure that sometimes stuff just happens.
There are two fundamental realities of working in
the Maker State: risks can be reduced but not
eliminated, and not everything is somebody's fault.
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