[Preliminary Thoughts: V]
A good tool should be direct, simple, and ergonomic.
The tool is a technological means to an end. But that doesn’t mean it should distance the gardener from the task. Quite the opposite. Tools should increase efficiency while maintaining (or decreasing) distance. A good tool keeps the farmer in direct contact with their subject.
A good tool is engineered with simplicity in mind. The more complex, the more can go wrong. The irony of complexity in gardening, especially when it pertains to tools, is that time is ultimately spent (lost?) on fixing the tool more than using it for its intended use. Along these lines, a tool should work with precision. Without pinpoint accuracy, a tool might serve other ends and thereby waste energy and time.
A tool should be ergonomic, that is, it should work with and not against the body’s natural posture. Farming is a physical act as much as a mental one. Better to partner with tools than be opposed by them.
I look forward to reflecting on the the need for direct, simple, and ergonomic characteristics of the good life too. What’s true for tools is true in relationships, vocation, and religion. It’ll be fun to learn from some of the best low-tech tools on the farm.
