Any muttonhead with money can have a nice house or car or airplane, but how many can build one?
Dean Ing, The Ransom of Black Stealth One
Exactly. Buying things is far more practical, harnessing the power of specialization and comparative advantage. Building the thing yourself is almost always the incorrect decision. Build it yourself if you are good at building that kind of thing and, more importantly, suck at doing other things that provide more (fungible) value.
Build it yourself if you are good at building that kind of thing and, more importantly, suck at doing other things that provide more (fungible) value.
Or if you enjoy the process of building it. Or if the process of building it will help you relax or something so that you’ll be able to do more things-that-provide-more-value later. Or if you’re trying to impress someone. Or any other of the reason people have hobbies. (Also, “suck” suggests a much lower threshold than there actually is, especially in times of unemployment and recession. Telling people who have to cook because they can’t afford eating at restaurants twice a day that they “suck” at making money sounds bad to me.)
Or if you enjoy the process of building it. Or if the process of building it will help you relax or something so that you’ll be able to do more things-that-provide-more-value later. Or if you’re trying to impress someone. Or any other of the reason people have hobbies.
Those are all reasons to build things. But not the subject of the context.
Exactly. Buying things is far more practical, harnessing the power of specialization and comparative advantage. Building the thing yourself is almost always the incorrect decision. Build it yourself if you are good at building that kind of thing and, more importantly, suck at doing other things that provide more (fungible) value.
Or if you enjoy the process of building it. Or if the process of building it will help you relax or something so that you’ll be able to do more things-that-provide-more-value later. Or if you’re trying to impress someone. Or any other of the reason people have hobbies. (Also, “suck” suggests a much lower threshold than there actually is, especially in times of unemployment and recession. Telling people who have to cook because they can’t afford eating at restaurants twice a day that they “suck” at making money sounds bad to me.)
Those are all reasons to build things. But not the subject of the context.
Closely related principle: Purchase Fuzzies and Utilons Separately.