[JohnFen]

I think this is tied in with Adam Savage's observation that practice alone gets you 80% of the way to mastery. Talent is what gets you the the other 20%.

Gear strikes me as being similar. High-end gear won't really improve the work of someone who is much below the 80% mastery mark, but it can make all the difference in the world to someone above it.

I also really like his approach to buying gear: if it's the first of a particular kind of equipment, buy the cheapest version you can get. Use that, and you'll learn if it's actually helpful to you and, if it is, what qualities are really important. Only then go out and buy the best version you can afford.

[jlkuester7]

> if it's the first of a particular kind of equipment, buy the cheapest version you can get. Use that, and you'll learn if it's actually helpful to you and, if it is, what qualities are really important. Only then go out and buy the best version you can afford.

I call this the Harbor Freight tool philosophy! If you need a tool that you do not have, buy it from Harbor Freight (the store sells very cheep but still functional tools). If (and only if) you wear out the Harbor Freight tool, then you know that your use-case deserves a higher level of investment and you go and buy the best version of the tool you can afford. This is a very simple and practical measure (for DIY folks) to decide what equipment to invest in.

[capableweb]

Would be nice to have a name to the "philosophy" indeed, but as someone who never heard of Harbor Freight before, maybe something internationally known would be better? :)