Rusty Bolts

Righty tighty, lefty loosey. It's all so easy in theory. But somebody forgot to tell the bolts...

As many know, I spent most of my career working in the skilled trades. It has led me to observe that, “Manipulating people is easy; it’s manipulating reality that’s tough.” My point is, people are much more malleable than reality. They will yield under enough pressure, or even with nothing more than the lemming-like desire to go with the flow. 

And of course, that has made me think of rusty bolts.  The point of bolts is to hold things together.  And if desired, you can unscrew the bolt to take things apart.  Great idea, in theory.  But like anyone who does the things I do, I encounter times when a bolt won’t loosen, and other times it won’t stay tightened.  People in my line of work actually have conversations about what to do in such cases. 

If you don’t routinely tighten and loosen bolts, you don’t need to know the various techniques that we discuss, when bolts become stubborn.  But here’s something to think about:  A bolt has no will.  It has neither desire to stay tight, nor to come loose. It behaves entirely within the laws of physics.  So, why do I swear at a bolt, when it won’t come loose?  Oh, and I DO swear. Even as I do it, I know it’s absurd. It’s entirely up to me to achieve the desired result; the materials are not willfully defying me. I have failed. Skilled, capable, intelligent and as educated as I am, I can’t loosen the damned bolt.  I can blame myself, or I can blame the bolt. So, of course, I blame the bolt. 

Isn’t that human nature?  When you can’t find your keys, isn’t it the default conclusion that someone else misplaced them? In traffic, isn’t it terrible that all those other drivers are slowing you down, but you aren’t slowing THEM down? 

That’s the nice thing about issues concerning other people.  It’s easy enough to blame them as much as possible, thereby assuaging our own egos.  But a bolt is a mindless, soulless chunk of steel. I can only blame myself for failing to overcome it.  But experience has indeed made me more astute as to how to handle the situation. 

And that translates to people, at least to a degree. My experience with bolts and the like makes me less inclined to blame others for my problems. My first instinct when I encounter a problem is to solve it myself, rather than look for someone else to encumber. And I see every problem as one that will benefit more greatly from a rational approach than from an emotional one. 

Spending more money on a bigger wrench doesn’t assure that the bolt will loosen and not break. Building a consensus of like-minded people who support the loosening of the bolt will contribute nothing to loosening the bolt. Shaming the bolt will not loosen the bolt. Rationality and experience are what loosens bolts. 

Yes, I still occasionally swear at a stuck bolt.  And I have unkind words for bolts that won’t stay tightened when I need them too.  But at least I am aware that I am being irrational.  And I’ve learned a few things over the years.  There are fewer and fewer bolts that can ‘outsmart’ me. 

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