Both learn lots of things that non-fanatics don't care about. But people who are obsessed with beer get fuzzier, while boat builders get sharper. Beer-drinkers know when all the bars open and learn to arrive just as the proprietor unlocks the door, while boat builders learn the minute differences between styles of boats. A beer drinker grows a gut. Beer-drinkers all look alike to me.
Boat builders are interesting.
Building boats allows them to exercise their independence, to get away from it all, to accomplish something. They make progress towards themselves. I didn't take that picture for him, I now realize, I selfishly took it for me. I took it because I was hoping I'd inherited enough of his genes to follow my dreams. I was beginning to realize that I didn't have to travel halfway around the world in order to find myself.