Here are my group's (Rob Balian, Jason Brown, Bianca Morales, Trevor Ness) themes that we identified for the Adam's reading on Craftsmanship:
1. In general, the manufacturing of products in the US could improve with more centralized standardization for product specifications, tolerances and uses. For example, there was a putter that was not well-balanced and actually illegal for use as deemed by the US Golfing Association.
2. Good craftsmanship implies good performance (piano) and bad craftsmanship implies bad performance (putter).
3. The overspecialization of products (like the VANS skateboarding shoes) can be as much a problem as the over-generalization of products to be useful (overly-complicated features being continually added to car interiors to adjust to the comfort level and preferences of almost anyone leads to people just not using those features at all).
4. Thought question: Can the level of craftsmanship for a one-time use product (such as disposable plastic knives) be as superb as a product with the same intended use (such as a Kasumi chef's knife)? How are they compared?
5. There were a lot of examples of poor product testing, (laptop overheating) or poor materials selection (stirring in a ceramic mug scratches off the color coating, aluminum water bottles ding and scratch too easily, are poor thermal insulators).
6. Decline of the craftsman : salaries do not reflect the value of craftsmanship, craftspeople being replaced by machines that have no transfer of sensitivity and craftsmanship for continuing the trade. Evolution of humanity after industrial revolution: people began to buy what they formerly made--lost the connection to the object, an appreciation for how it was made and an understanding of its function. Difficult to describe in terms good versus bad craftsmanship.
7. The connection between cost and craftsmanship . People perceive a certain level of quality and craftsmanship based on what they pay, and how this translates once they start using their product.
8. Fit and finish is huge (craftsmanship is in the fine details). Gaps between mating surfaces, materials, flushness, textures, surfacing finish, etc play a large role in perceived craftsmanship.
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