Creating and Consuming with Physical Tools

While reading a post at auxxuy.xyz: They Won't Make Them Like They Used To about the fall of typewriters, I started to think about how much I love physical tools.

Whenever I write a post, it always starts out with pencil and paper. Something about being in physical contact with the words and watching the page fill up with my imperfect handwriting keeps my mind engaged and helps me think through what's on my mind—much like how a typewriter will have slightly darker letters in some spots. It's a small difference that makes a big impact.

Physical tools tend to be slow. This is another benefit in many cases. When I was a kid I had one of those MP3 players with a tiny e-ink screen just big enough to fit most song titles and physical buttons I had to push down. If I wanted to add music to it—because it only had 2 GB of storage—I had to go to my computer, plug in the MP3 player, open my music files, and drag them over.

And before MP3 players, you had CDs. You had to buy music at the store, and you didn't get more until the next time you went to the store. You were stuck with what you had, so you had to slow down and appreciate what you had. I think that's good for us. These days, with music streaming, you can just tell your phone to play whatever you think of. While that sounds nice, it takes a bit of the appreciation away from what we consume.

I love the act of opening a CD case to an album with art I can touch and lyrics I can flip through while I listen. The whole process is soothing like a ritual.

Digital tools are useful in more ways than I can count, but it's nice to hold on to some tools that let you put more of yourself between mind and medium.