We’ve mistaken complexity for progress — and forgotten how things work. A 41-year-old computer still boots instantly, while today’s “smart” tech buckles.
There are real limits to repairability in modern devices, some placed there just in order to force you to pay the manufacturer more money. But you’re right that there’s a lot we could do that we’re just not bothering to do.
You don’t have to fix everything, but just doing stuff like replacing connectors and capacitors could probably save 10% of the shit that we throw away, and it’s not that hard to try.
I do agree with that completely and I’d like to add to it with an additional point.
When things break it sucks, but this does present you with an opportunity. If it’s already not working, there’s no harm in taking it apart and taking a look around. Maybe you’ll see something obviously at fault, maybe you won’t. But there’s literally no harm in trying to fix it, especially if otherwise you were planning to toss it out.
And I really can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen a device stop working, and apon closer inspection the entire problem was something very simple, like an old wire broke at the solder point, and with it disconnected, the power switch doesn’t work. When I was a kid and didn’t know how to solder, I would fix issues like that with some aluminum foil, and often it worked. Just start with a screwdriver, open things up, take a look around. We owe it to ourselves and to the planet to just give it a shot.
There are real limits to repairability in modern devices, some placed there just in order to force you to pay the manufacturer more money. But you’re right that there’s a lot we could do that we’re just not bothering to do.
You don’t have to fix everything, but just doing stuff like replacing connectors and capacitors could probably save 10% of the shit that we throw away, and it’s not that hard to try.
I do agree with that completely and I’d like to add to it with an additional point.
When things break it sucks, but this does present you with an opportunity. If it’s already not working, there’s no harm in taking it apart and taking a look around. Maybe you’ll see something obviously at fault, maybe you won’t. But there’s literally no harm in trying to fix it, especially if otherwise you were planning to toss it out.
And I really can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen a device stop working, and apon closer inspection the entire problem was something very simple, like an old wire broke at the solder point, and with it disconnected, the power switch doesn’t work. When I was a kid and didn’t know how to solder, I would fix issues like that with some aluminum foil, and often it worked. Just start with a screwdriver, open things up, take a look around. We owe it to ourselves and to the planet to just give it a shot.