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273 points geox | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0.415s | source
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johnnylambada ◴[] No.40713507[source]
It’s fascinating to think about the number of PUs (procedural units) it takes to make a modern tool. Something as simple as a modern hammer must number in the thousands and a mobile phone in the millions or billions.
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alun ◴[] No.40714382[source]
You might find the essay "I, Pencil" by Leonard Read interesting. It's told from the point of view of a pencil who talks about the complexity of his own creation and all of the components involved in the process
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brazzy ◴[] No.40714843[source]
There's also Thomas Thwaites' "building a toaster... from scratch" project that goes into the details of how even an extremely simple appliance involves materials and processes that are effectively impossible for a single person to replicate (spoiler: he has to give up and "cheat" on some things).
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1. Cthulhu_ ◴[] No.40717299[source]
Likewise, someone (I forgot who) who made a sandwich from scratch - growing wheat, pigs, cows, produce, the works.
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2. maxwell ◴[] No.40718367[source]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URvWSsAgtJE