when I was young, we lived with my grandparents after my parents divorce. My grandfather worked in a factory in trenton, NJ; in fact, both of my grandfathers did..now there are no factories. Nevertheless, he had a garage full of tools, vises (and vices.. i used to find his cigarettes and try one here and there). Maybe just by sheer proximity, i would find his tools and try to build things.. badly, but i did learn how to cut things, bend things, screw things together. As I got older, i got into sports so I stopped 'tinkering', but I never forgot it. I took apart my moped engine just to see if I could put it back together.. I almost got it right. I built a gangplank for my parents boat that i thought was pretty sturdy. I proudly brought it down to their boat for a ceremonious 'launch'. I took a single step on it and unceremoniously fell through it into the bay (true story). I didn't think I was smart enough to go into engineering, so I decided in a very roundabout way to go into computer science in college. This scratched my itch to build something.. anything, and I turned it into a marginally successful career. My step dad was also very handy around the house. I distinctly remember my mother asking me to hang with my step dad to learn how he fixed all of our cars. My answer : 'I'll just pay someone to do it,' Naivete at its finest. Although, admittedly, I'm an average developer, but I'm still endlessly fascinating with making things.. even more fascinated with learning how other smarter people do it (thanks HN!). When I became home owner, I was never daunted by installing light switches, building shelves, minor plumbing or car repairs, anything. I think it goes back to my grandfather's garage of my youth. The article talks about the intense structure of childhood.. the endless competition of college admissions, the lack of time to just 'tinker' or make things.. however dumb or useless . I see all of that in my own kids who haven't had the same 'time' for lack of a better word. Of course, the brutal economics of adulting will literally force some of that on you, but without some kind of introduction to it, you're at a distinct disadvantage. I'm glad I had at least some kind of exposure to it as it doesn't really go away.