Tools of the trade

Over the last couple of months, I have been repeatedly encountering some very insightful comments and writings by Kevin Kelly, one of the founders of “Wired” magazine, and the author of “Cool Tools,” among other neat books. Recently, he commented on the value of finding one’s own “trade” – a skill set that enables some useful and universally-applicable contribution to society. This skill would be tradable for money or other means to support living in any part of the world. In other words, the personal “trade” is the core skill behind one’s occupation.

Finding and cultivating this skill set is inherently difficult and can (and probably should) take the entire lifetime. I think that perhaps examining the tools that we use in everyday life can give an indication of what our personal trade is or could be (at this particular time, anyway).

The problem with this analysis is that we do many things. I my case, for example, the activities range from teaching and research to photography, calligraphy and kendo. Each area has its own tools, which often change in line with technology. Some patterns stand out, though. Most of the tolls that I have been using consistently since elementary school have something to do with either visual or written communication – books, pens and pencils, brushes and paints, photo cameras. I wonder if this general tool set is an indication of what my particular “trade skill” is or simply has to do with how the modern society functions, communication being at the foundation of most human activities.