729 Monkey

I came across an essay by Bruce Sterling a while back called 'the last veridian note'. It was mostly advice about how to live in ways that optimized your interactions with the physical world (getting rid of clutter, carefully choosing the objects you use the most, etc.). I didn't agree with everything he said, but I found most of it pretty interesting, especially what he said about tools:

"I strongly recommend that you carry a multitool. There are dozens of species of these remarkable devices now, and for good reason. Do not show them off in a beltpack, because this marks you as a poorly-socialized geek. Keep your multitool hidden in the same discreet way that you would any other set of keys.

That's because a multitool IS a set of keys. It's a set of possible creative interventions in your immediate material environment. That is why you want a multitool. They are empowering.

A multitool changes your perceptions of the world. Since you lack your previous untooled learned-helplessness, you will slowly find yourself becoming more capable and more observant. If you have pocket-scissors, you will notice loose threads; if you have a small knife you will notice bad packaging; if you have a file you will notice flashing, metallic burrs, and bad joinery. If you have tweezers you can help injured children, while if you have a pen, you will take notes. Tools in your space, saving your time. A multitool is a design education."

This little section got me thinking about the tools and objects I carry with me day-to-day. They basically amount to a plethora of solutions-in-search-of-problems...

Here's what I usually carry in my pockets:

A Swiss army knife, handkerchief, pen/ mechanical pencil, wallet (containing band-aids, butterfly band-aids, needle and thread, safety-pins, and sometimes even money), cell phone, and an ipod touch stocked with a full compliment of conceivably-useful apps.

Here's what I usually carry in my backpack:

A leatherman (since the swiss army knife doesn't have pliers), coil of thin wire, string, 6' tape measure, small roll of duct tape, penlight, lighter, ear plugs, plastic bag, a couple rubber bands, sharpy, hackey sack, and a map of the city with all of the bus and subway routes.

You'd be surprised, but occassionally some of this crap actually comes in handy. I think the band-aids and pocket-knife get the most use, but that's probably just a coincidence.