Fay Butler Fab/Metal Shaping

Craftmanship

If a man believes something for a reason which is preposterous or for no reason at all, and what he believes turns out to be true, for some reason not known to him, he cannot be said to believe it rationally, although he believes it and it is in fact true. On the other hand, a man may rationally believe a proposition to be probable when it is in fact false.

—John Maynard Keynes, 1883-1946 (Economist)

“In the elder days of art
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part,
For the Gods are everywhere.”

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807-1882
(Poet and Educator)

Common Law of Business Balance

It is unwise to pay too much. But it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money, that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better. There is hardly anything in the world that someone can’t make a little worse and sell a little cheaper – and people who consider price alone are this man’s lawful prey.

— John Ruskin 1819-1900
(leading English art critic of the Victorian era)

“In the old days, craftsman did not cut corners. They worked carefully, and they took care with every aspect of their work. Every part of the product was considered, and each was designed and made to be exactly as it should be. These craftsmen did not relax their thoughtful self-discipline even with respect to features of their work that would ordinarily not be visible. Although no one would notice if these features were not quiet right, the craftsman would be bothered by their consciences. So nothing was swept under the rug.”

— Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1889-1951
…to characterize “nonsense”

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