#1 Why De-Paradigmed?
De-paradigmed is an expression of frustration with the way things are made and sold.
If you have lived many years, you have probably noted a decline in the quality of products. It shows in the use of inferior materials and less material used. It results in devices that are frail and do not last.
The industrial revolution has given us many intriguing machines, but it has also replaced the craftsman with the production line. With industrialization came the idea of removing man’s skill from the equation in making something and making it with a minimum of inputs. Mass production is driven by a zealous crusade to extol efficiency above all other considerations. Commoditization and globalism are sects of efficiency which have muted or erased real distinction and uniqueness among brands.
Where once we looked upon a device, used it, and reflected upon the whole of the experience with delight, now there are so few that elicit warm emotion. The depth of personality, or machinality, is missing.
What has changed in the way items are marketed?
Books cover topics like behavioral psychology, market development and the need to tell a story. Advertising use to convey hard features and benefits that would differentiate a “product” from competitors. Now distinction is largely illusory; words are used to fabricate it. Dramas are created placing the buyer in a situation benefiting from the product. No claims are made, just an emotional appeal that feels good. Did marketing and advertising adapt to a change in desires, or were they responsible for engineering it?
The world operates in the moment, contained in a meager existence where only the superficial is relevant. To give thought to the past or the future draws attention from the momentary thrill of the present. The modern world must be entertained. Boredom is to be treated like the plague. Progress is the treatment that continues to move society forward, always looking for more and better. To participate, finite budgets must be sliced ever thinner to accommodate the ever-greater selection of items to be purchased. Buying decisions, then, are based on the greatest number of thrills for the lowest price. Cheap products are tolerated for the sake of being entertained with the new.
People don’t stick to things like they did in the past. Even relationships are easily disposable. Permanence is a rare concept, and this is disturbing to some of us.
The modern world is often cold and inhumane. Loneliness is a terrible feeling and many people know it. They long for connection that escapes them. People have lost faith in the humanity of those around them.
A manufactured device is no substitute for human-to-human relationships. An inanimate object itself can offer no love in return. But a machine conceived and crafted to express old values holds potential to affect the lives of people who feel estranged by the world’s priorities. There is a form of intimacy here that can in some fashion serve to fill the void where direct human relationships are lacking.
An artisanal machine would be fashioned with the time and care required to distinguish it from a product. A brand motivated to build things this way would have what Rick Springfield sang about – the human touch. Nassim Taleb from the title of his book states that artisans have “skin in the game”. They are not driven by financial goals. Artisans will not compromise the integrity of what they make because it is an extension of themselves. When this integrity results in radical distinctiveness it can be said that it takes on personality just as each person is unique, so machinality. I add to this trait that there should also be a driving force behind it which is an inordinate concern for the user’s well-being as it relates to its operation or function. How is this machinality defined? It can’t be exactly; it will come in different shades, varying by brand, just as the people behind them are different. There is no one formula to be written down.
How do you connect with the people who cling to these values? The answer should not be to lure them. If you were a sincere person, how would you go about attracting a spouse? I would hope you would not use focus groups, demographic studies, or pretend to be something you are not. Rather embrace the customer. Making things of this quality makes it necessary to re-define the parameters of the relationship. Apply the art of romance to the business of communicating the value of artisan-made machines.
De-paradigmed wants to encourage a few bold manufacturers to take a stand. Look to the past and build things that last, that fill people up and really satisfy. When profit is not the driving motive, machines can be endowed with quality and character that makes them warm and endearing over many years of ownership. As a manufacturer, this is a means of fulfilling the command to love your neighbor, no matter how distant they are. The ones who feel alone may feel a little bit less so when they comprehend the care and intention built into their purchase. Those aligned with de-paradigmed will pursue these brands and reward them with the premiums that reflect the emotions they create.
Show us these principles fixed in machines again. Forsake the modern and replace:
*Products with artifacts
*Efficiency with abundance
*Façade with dimension and character
*Seduction with romance
The complication of machines, when rushed into existence, can be a source of frustration and a liability. But that complication under the direction of an artisan presents numerous opportunities to treat the customer, not with a moment’s pleasure, but lasting treasure like no one else is willing to do. Whether you make bulldozers, aircraft, bicycles, firearms, or even sewing machines, the world will be a better place if a few brands are able to connect us human to human, giver to receiver via a machine. A company that does this will bring people in from the cold. This is what good neighbors do.
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