The Mortise & Tenon Podcast 71 – Finding Balance
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Jan 30, 2025 The hosts debate whether mental work or manual labor is more beneficial, urging a blend of both for overall health. They discuss the dangers of separating thinkers from workers, emphasizing the importance of hands-on design involvement. Seasonal rhythms of work and rest are explored, highlighting how different jobs influence leisure activities. The meditative aspects of woodworking and the need for balance between intensity and relaxation are shared, along with insights on finding satisfaction in both skilled and humble work.
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Dangers Of The Head/Hand Dichotomy
- Segregating thinkers and workers creates unhealthy social roles and envy.
- John Ruskin argues labor and thought must mix to make both healthy and happy.
Losing Agency Through Purely Cerebral Work
- Over-reliance on cerebral work erodes practical agency and understanding of the material world.
- Matthew Crawford's argument highlights how losing manual skills surrenders control to opaque technologies.
Three Models Of Work–Leisure Relation
- People relate to work and leisure in three patterns: identity, compensatory, and separation.
- Those patterns shape whether someone blends work and leisure or uses leisure to offset dissatisfaction.
