Sounds amazing. How on earth did he go from shoeing horses to learning about the internal combustion engine? Seems quite the leap that not everyone would be capable of.
replyHe just vibe-repaired cars!
replyJoke aside, it was not shoeing horses but also working on the carts, etc. Probably bikes too. So at least he reused some mechanical skills, and probably tools, he already had. Only the engine was really new.
And many people living in small villages back then had basic knowledge in many disciplines, including electricity. When you had a farm for instance, you needed to be able to repair yourself anything.
This happened to my grandfather (blacksmith to working on cars and motorcycles), who was illiterate. From what I gather, it was a lifetime of trial-and-error-and-keep-what-works.
replyAnd he was probably very inquisitive too. Great story.
replyEarly automobiles were very simple machines. I you knew how to repair a carriage or a wagon, you were pretty close to being able to work on an early automobile. You should check them out.
replyHonestly I think people forget this fact. You don't have to go that far back to find vehicles that you absolutely could do anything to yourself with basic tools.
replyWe're fixing up a 1987 Jeep Wrangler for our son. I could strip it down to the frame with 3 or 4 tools. It's kind of amazing how simple cars were, and that was in the late 80's.
Yeah as long as you ignore the engine (ECU/PCM/TCUs) in cars in the 80s, they're quite simple. Go back to the early 70s-before and it's mostly all analog or trivial electronics.
replyShoeing horses properly is actually no joke and cars back then were laughably simple. I don’t see how any of that could feel relatable to people in software development now, when almost all jobs that require real smarts and competency require years of study and experience.
replyI don't think the story is meant to be taken as literally as I'm reading in this comment.
replyMany people in life are underutilized and ready to step up to challenges if given the opportunity.
replyThe flagging here is better than in a Steinberger thread. Unreal and congrats.
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replyShallow dismissal.
replyPlease consider that this family story likely motivates OP's worldview and projects, rather than the other way around.