Hello Peter,
Thank you for your post. I know that you have considerable experience in programming for CNC machines. That gives you a special appreciation for the technology developed as an alternative to what came before.
Readers, please bear with me. I sincerely believe this is relevant and interesting. We’ve come to some interesting crossroads in our Society. Every society does. Consider the ..... ..... Crossbow. “Excuse me???” Yes ... “Crossbow”. Before the Crossbow, was the Longbow. It took quite a lot of practice to effectively shoot a Longbow. Especially a powerful one. It took strength, a keen eye, balance, and concentration. This boils down to “Talent”. It took time to develop an “Archer”. And an Archer was highly prized by the organizers of Armies. Imagine the effort required to field and entire Regiment of Archers. Perhaps two hundred skilled men. Robin Hood’s of type. It’s nearly impossible. But that is why there was endless efforts to develop the skill as children grew. It’s why there was Archery ranges on the Village Green and everyone was pressed to put in their hours of practice and strength training. If you pull an 80 pound war bow, you will know why!
Commanders developed ways to compensate for the inevitable lack of Robin Hood’s they had to go to war with. One such technique: a FLIGHT OF ARROWS. All your archers were directed to coordinate their fire. To lift their drawn bows skyward, aim at the enemy mass in general (across the field of battle), and release their arrows as one, on command. The Air would FILL with arrows. 200 arrows screaming at the enemy line - as one. They were going to hit SOMETHING! And they did. Such techniques were developed due to the lack of being able to train enough really skilled archers.
Someone thought, “What if we took several of the difficult skills of Archery, and built a machine to handle those.” How about a winch or lever to draw the bow - so we can use some of these skinny smaller guys. How about a clever multi-lever trigger assembly for a smooth release. How about a ridged frame to hold the bow drawn while aiming?!!! Hey, we could cut the training time by 10x. We could quickly teach an ordinary Joe to knock a skilled Knight off his steed!!! And ... they did!!!
How about skilled machinists? Easy to produce? No. It takes time. Takes a keen eye. Takes dexterity. How about skilled Engravers? No. Takes far more time and natural skills then the machinist. Can you draw? I mean, really really well? How many people can? Now, can you cut your drawing into steel??? Hey, this digital technology. Do you think we could program a precise milling machine to reproduce the work of a skilled engraver??? Hey .... mostly, yes!!! And we tried it, and it worked! It worked to the point where skilled programmers command far greater respect and reward than do skilled Engravers! The society changed. They became far less willing to give respect to the single skilled engraver. I mean, it’s not really fair... right. I mean, he started with natural skills. He could judge distance. He could draw for Heaven’s sake! He had patience. He could apply himself with concentration. We can’t all do that. We’d rather give praise to the winning Cage Fighter. Give obscene amounts of money to sport figures. And now, we’ve got these clever machines that can engrave - over and over again.
But; once in a while ... someone comes along. He has quite a few natural skills. He has an interest in traditional art forms. He has the determination, the patience, and concentration. He practices. He practices for decades. His work looks pretty good. Doesn’t work as fast as our CNC Mill. But ... should we give him respect? Always to be seen. Always depends upon the background of the person seeing his work.
I’ll be back Peter. Thank you, as a Programmer, for showing respect for this old Artist. Thank you my friend.
Gary