is electronics even waste of time - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: strawberry
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 29, 2021, 10:48:07 pm
content: if dont make something useful nor capable inventing something. is that waste of resources to pretend smartif dont make something useful. is this addiction like hoardingif make something good, it will show up on aliexpress for 1/10 bom costif components become tiny, need expensive assembly serviceif components become less reliablewhat is net worth from this

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 29, 2021, 10:51:14 pm
content: If you need to ask those questions, do something you enjoy.

author: fourfathom
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 29, 2021, 10:54:59 pm
content: Quote from: strawberry on December 29, 2021, 10:48:07 pmI disagree with most of your statements, but even if you're correct, perhaps the net worth is to exercise your mind? To find pleasure in solving problems and learning something new?

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 29, 2021, 11:22:38 pm
content: Uh yeah not very clear what the OP is on about either...But I'd say, define what *useful* is to you. And why you equate "good" with showing up for cheap somewhere else.All of this is not clear.It almost sounds like an existential crisis. After all, what you say, if we follow the same logic, can be applied to our own lives. Why bother living when there are billions of others already living, and many of them having either nicer life than us, or a life that has a much lower cost/footprint overall?

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 02:08:58 am
content: What is the net worth of assembling a jigsaw puzzle? You can look on the box if you just want to see the picture. What is the net worth of playing Chess? Or painting a picture, or stitching a pillow together from scratch when you can just go buy one from a store? With a hobby it's as much about the journey as the destination.

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 02:17:10 am
content: It is a waste of time. It's also not a waste of time.When you think it's a waste of time - do something else. If you don't, then keep having fun with it.Like, now I think this response is a waste of time, so I will now do something else.

author: eti
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 03:19:32 am
content: It’s a “Schroedinger’s occupation”It’s simultaneously a waste of time and also not a waste of time, depending on whether the box of opinion has yet been opened. Also, how long is a piece of string? Twice the length that one end is from the middle.Have a happy new year. ❤️

author: daqq
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 07:47:30 am
content: Quote from: strawberry on December 29, 2021, 10:48:07 pmThat sounds like a long way of saying that electronics aren't your hobby.There is inherit worth in enjoying yourself and doing the things you like with your time. Not everything you do needs to be useful or add value to the Universe. If you look at everything this way, then watching movies, reading non-educational literature or listening to music is a waste of energy and time that could be better used by, say, learning the finer points of quantum physics or working at your local supermarket. Eating things other than nutrient powders that can sustain you is again wasteful.QuoteNo. I can do 0402 by hand easily, 0201 with a lot of effort. There are components that do need more specialized gear (BGA, WLCSP ets.), but if your design needs those, you aren't doing it for a hobby and can spend a few bucks to get it.

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 09:41:41 am
content: Having existential crisis is OK, just don't lie to yourself...Quote from: strawberry on December 29, 2021, 10:48:07 pmGenerally not true, in 99% of cases it won't happen. Think about how long it took for Arduino clones to actually appear, more than a year anyway despite the design being totally trivial and zero effort - during that time you should be doing something new. Anything more complex than Arduino, no one bothers to copy because copying efforts are directed into low hanging fruits.QuoteSimply not true at all. Prototyping with smallest parts on market is entirely possible without expensive investments if you have the motivation to learn to do it.QuoteComponents are more reliable than ever in the history. Today's commercial grade is similar to military grade of 1970's. Just don't buy counterfeits from Ebay, and any component reliability issue is most likely due to severe misunderstanding of how those components should be designed in.

author: Microdoser
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 12:10:11 pm
content: The answer?Because you enjoy it. Sounds like you don't. I would say to not do something you see no value in doing and get no enjoyment from.I would suggest doing something with your time that cannot be sold cheaper by someone in China, singing maybe?Gardening?

author: Carel
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 05:00:50 pm
content: I think it's a harsh winter in Latvia.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 07:29:16 pm
content: I would say that it is very hard for an individual to make a mass market product for sufficient sales to make lots of money. That does not mean it is impossible to make a living. It still beats killing mastodons with a spear.

author: Gregg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 08:54:45 pm
content: It appears that the OP is stuck down the rabbit hole of inventing and developing products from scratch. Unfortunately very few inventors make a good living from inventing alone.Perhaps it is time to find a new rabbit hole that adds value to things already invented, such as repair, maintenance or adding functionality. I personally find a great deal of satisfaction in repairing things.Some people are making a great living from repairing electronics. This may be an easy transition for OP.

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 08:56:38 pm
content: It's winter time in Latvia. Depression and lots of vodka over the hot stones in the sauna.

author: armandine2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 09:32:06 pm
content: Quote from: strawberry on December 29, 2021, 10:48:07 pmNot sure I've gotten your drift - but doubt is an honest reaction to something which requires a lot of effort. Musicians and athletes (I dare say) will share this question and have to keep the faith to maintain their interest, in the early stages.

author: VooDust
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 10:31:36 pm
content: 1-2 years of my life was spent learning electronics on the side. I would spend the nights in my "lab" after bringing the kids to bed, twisting my mind over beginner circuits. Anything I ever built could have been done by 1st year EE students. Total waste of time.It just so happened I interviewed for a prestigious (to me) job at a world known software company. Totally unrelated to EE, but when I had to prove I was curious minded, able to learn and to solve problems on my own, I showed them my hardware gadgets that I designed and manufactured. I got the job.Moral of the story: You have to put something in to get something out. Also I was lucky.

author: mathsquid
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 11:03:18 pm
content: Quote from: strawberry on December 29, 2021, 10:48:07 pmI feel this in my bones.I feel it about electronics and about all my other hobbies. It's a feeling that I'm wasting my time. That I should be doing something more productive or worthwhile. Other posters have said that if you enjoy it then it's not a waste, and I agree completely. But it's not that simple.One problem is that if I did switch to some other hobby, I'd eventually feel the same way about it. So the truth is that this it's not about electronics, or any other particular hobby. It's an issue with me experiencing existential dread.Another problem--and this may just be me being weird--is that sometimes I don't know whether I'm enjoying something or not. My hobbies all involve problem-solving of some sort. Problem-solving can be fun and rewarding, but it can also be frustrating. This happens all too often: I want to make something (a circuit/program/metal doohicky), and I run into a really challenging problem/task. I get tunnel vision while working on it, and then a couple of hours later I'll realize that I've not been having fun for the past 45 minutes, and I feel like that time was wasted. It's difficult for me to realize when I need to pause and go do something else.And when I think about it, I do like and mostly enjoy electronics and my other hobbies, even if they frustrate me sometimes. Apart from some applications that I can use in the classroom (like approximating the golden ratio with a resistor ladder), I don't foresee anything "useful" coming out of it, and I know that that is okay. But it doesn't always feel okay. I'm sorry that the OP has these sorts of feelings, but it is comforting that I'm not the only one.

author: VooDust
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2021, 01:29:24 pm
content: Quote from: mathsquid on December 30, 2021, 11:03:18 pmThis is me to a T. You might want to take theAutism Quotient testand go from there. Autism can take many forms and is undiagnosed in many adults.Also, depression. But that can have many root causes and I don't have a solution for that.But it helps when you know there is a reason and you are actually supposed to be this way.

author: armandine2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2021, 02:26:03 pm
content: If we're considering theories: for me the Correspondence Theorem is a favourite.Something to do with the hidden curriculum -- if we are not inclined to favour long projects perhaps we were taught not to be.

author: armandine2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2021, 03:22:57 pm
content: and ... a good gripe - not too off topicEEVblog #40 - Dilbert and the world of micro managed Engineering

author: rob77
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2021, 03:37:49 pm
content: i like to waste my time on electronicssometimes i make nothing useful, sometimes i repair stuff, sometimes i even destroy stuff, sometimes i build stuff which more crappy and expensive than a bought one.. but meh... still like it !

author: unknownparticle
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2022, 07:44:21 pm
content: If electronics is a waste of time, I can think of several hundred other hobbies or activities that are a much greater waste of time! Stamp collecting, golf, gnomes, beermats, baking (a particular nonsense that is very popular in the UK ATM!), etc, etc! Electronics, for me anyway, is an infinitely interesting and absorbing subject in it's own right, even if nothing productive at a commercial level is achieved.

author: RJSV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2022, 01:00:41 am
content: There's lots of us, who don't 'build', but that's only better said as 'dont build things, directly'. Heck, many many Product Support, and Technical Trainer folks contribute highly, to any team, really. Any team has got to have all kinds of krud-level support.

author: Ed.Kloonk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2022, 03:27:55 am
content: Quote from: mathsquid on December 30, 2021, 11:03:18 pmThink of it just as you would fitness exercise. Some workouts are better than others.

author: newbrain
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2022, 08:37:46 am
content: Quote from: barycentric on January 05, 2022, 07:25:20 amAgreed, exactly as sex for non-procreative purposes. Still a lot of fun, though.

author: Sal Ammoniac
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2022, 06:44:36 pm
content: Quote from: strawberry on December 29, 2021, 10:48:07 pmThat's like saying I should give up playing golf and just watch Tiger Woods on TV because he's a much better player than me.