There’s nothing fancy about this episode: we talk about tools—the kind of tools that you can have a one to one relationship with. Artists use tools; and tools help to make us human. We discuss tools in the Bible, the difference between tools and machines, the cyclical nature of tools, Wendell Berry’s principles for adopting new technology, and much more. Tools carry stories with them, and they connect us to the world around us.
Toward the beginning of the episode, Seth reads his poem Windvanes (see below).
While you can take a look at the chapter headings below to see the outline of our discussion, we’d really like to learn what your favorite tools are. What is your earliest memory using a tool? Let us know, and we hope you enjoy this episode!
For the musical interlude, we played “Moses Saw the Burning Bush,” by Jack Baumgartner, which you can listen to in full here:
Here’s is the poem by Seth Wieck:
Windvanes
For John
In the evening leisure hours, he’d divine
the scrap bucket for suitable hardwoods, and
by the coppering light, show me the bend
of the grain, then explain with blade how to hand-plane windvanes.
“Where are you?” he asked the vane once, grinning. A puff
of wind dusted past my cheek, scattering ribboned oaklocks
from the bench, and the marvel I’m able to risk
these years since is the wind formed first as his laugh.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Reflections on Pauses
02:59 Prayer and Context of the Conversation
03:45 Exploring Early Memories with Tools
10:07 The Significance of Tools in the Bible
14:56 The Nature of Tools and Technology
21:58 Cyclical Nature of Tools and Their Evolution
31:03 The Story Behind Tools
36:52 Distinguishing Tools from Machines
41:59 Wendell Berry’s Rules for Technology Adoption
46:51 The Complexity of Modern Agriculture
52:48 The Idealism of Living Simply
01:01:48 Connection to Material and Craftsmanship
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