We were chatting about the forum at the office, and I had a question: Is there anything this forum won't DIY? Yeah yeah yeah, I know we've had a million threads on DIY car stuff. I'm talking about the other stuff....
Dealing with deadly radon gas? Yep, DIY.
Home canning? Here's how.
Need some blood on short notice? We've got you covered.
Medical insurance? Sure.
Home dentistry? Of course we can do home dentistry!
Is there any topic we haven't DIY'd?
Open heart surgery?
Home circumcision?
Proctology?
In reply to Katie Wilson :
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/diy-surgery-in-a-box/19379/page1/
Damn, no open heart surgery. But it looks like somebody here engineers pace makers and jumped into a thread?
914Driver said:Proctology?
Rubber band ligation of hemorrhoid is the better description.
DIY is just knowledge and tools. If you like to learn about things and hate to pay people to do things you can do for yourself, you can DIY almost anything. Even rocket surgery. The rocket surgeon isn't smarter than the average Joe, he just knows the tricks of the trade and has the necessary tools to do the job.
In reply to Toyman! :
Knowledge comes from lots of time and lots of mistakes.
How much time is the task going to take? Can it be handled in little bites, or do you have to tackle it in one go?
How bad is it going to be when you make a mistake? Can mistakes be undone?
"Anything anyone knows is written down in a book somewhere." - My grandfather.
Toyman! said:DIY is just knowledge and tools. If you like to learn about things and hate to pay people to do things you can do for yourself
When I had septic system problems my friends were aghast at the idea DIY'ing it. You can pay people to do that you know.
Yes, I know.
Toyman! said:The rocket surgeon isn't smarter than the average Joe
yeah, he probably is.
Katie Wilson said:Home circumcision?
That probably belongs in one of the threads where we were discussing tips.
I'll see myself out.
Welding galvanized? Hopping up a Ford Transit?
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:Toyman! said:The rocket surgeon isn't smarter than the average Joe
yeah, he probably is.
That's more of a statement about the "average", sadly.
Will Rodgers said wisdom comes from experience. Which mostly comes from bad judgment.
Tom Suddard said:In reply to Katie Wilson :
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/diy-surgery-in-a-box/19379/page1/
Damn, no open heart surgery. But it looks like somebody here engineers pace makers and jumped into a thread?
not open-heart surgery, but a device that's used in afib ablation procedures was invented by a forum member... https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/im-tired-of-being-the-ho/156892/page6/
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:Toyman! said:The rocket surgeon isn't smarter than the average Joe
yeah, he probably is.
Disagree.
They're smart at different things.
I've met highly educated people who seem dumb as a post when you take them out of their element.
I've also met plenty of old guys who never finished high school but are very intelligent. Assume otherwise at your peril.
I'm not a gynocologist, but I'm available for second opinions.
I've always assumed that the willingness to work on something comes with comfort. I think I lot of people have fears about tearing something apart to fix it, but most of the people on this board have failed many times and were successful enough not to be scared about trying to fix something they know little about. Case in point, my dryer started banging away the other day, so I decided to fix it. Ordered a repair kit, watched a quick video* and took it apart. Of course, the rollers I bought from Amazon didn't fit..... After 20 minutes of running the shaft in a cordless drill and trying to reduce it down to size with a file, I realized it was stupid and went and order a different kit. At least the new kit comes with shafts, so I'm 99% sure it'll fit. Wife was a bit concerned, but I realized they're dead simple in design and dove in with zero concern about getting it fixed. That same attitude applies to cars, plumbing, home repair, etc.
I also think the old adage "necessity is the mother of invention" goes a long way. Most people around here are frugal (by nature or by necessity), so fixing something themselves vs. paying to have it fixed just seems natural. Why look at $400 for a new dryer when a $25 (well, and then another $30) roller kit will fix it?
*The internet has made working on things MUCH easier. I've watched countless of videos for fixing something before diving in. If it's broken, there's a video or a GRM forum post on how to fix it.
-Rob
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
I spent 3 years at Duke University as a R&D Engineer doing female reproductive health research. We built a machine that could measure gel thickness invivo and the research was used to increase the efficacy of gel based protection. I also made a portable colposcope for use in low resource settings.
Also not a gynecologist but have made them some tools.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:Toyman! said:The rocket surgeon isn't smarter than the average Joe
yeah, he probably is.
He's not. He just has specialized knowledge pertinent to his job and field. Anyone one of us could build a rocket. All it takes is the knowledge and the drive to do so.
If we all were stranded on an island, I'm pretty sure we could rescue ourselves, and probably using something never seen before.
DIY gene editing has been possible for several years now using CRISPR and home lab equipment, but in this forum I would not recommend it.
Katie Wilson said:Home circumcision?
If you know a Philipino, have access to some Guava leaves and know where the river is...
I went to college and had a career as an airplane mechanic when I was young. It taught me that when I lay tools upon a job, it better be done right. I mean done berkeleying right, or people die. After adjusting to that mindset, I overcame any fear whatsoever of mechanical projects. I trust myself implicitly. Your life is in good hands when I'm in the shop.
Later I went to fire school and Paramedic school and worked a long career as a fireman. There were quite a few situations in that career where I had to have my wits about myself and make smart decisions or myself and/or my crew could die. As a medic, it was plenty of "if I screw up, this person dies" scenarios. After a while you adjust and realize that you can trust yourself completely to handle life and death situations for yourself or others. All this led me to absolutely zero fear of basically anything.
I absolutely 100 percent ain't skeered. Pay attention. Concentrate. Slow and steady. It will work out just fine whether it's fixing a lawnmower or giving myself sutures at the fire station kitchen table.
I don't think I've ever seen anyone on here DIY an airplane engine rebuild. Yet.
In reply to rob_lewis :
There's also the factor of, "I'm not going to break it any worse than it already is."
Mechanical things like that are also prime candidates for my criteria of being able to fix it one bite at a time, and ability to undo mistakes.
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