16 May
2005
16 May
'05
11:36 a.m.
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Foust" <jfoust at threedee.com>
To: <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2005 11:02 AM
Subject: Pathology or hobby?
At 08:17 PM 5/14/2005, Tom Jennings wrote:
In my view a collector looks for specific machines and parts to complete his
collection and does not have many multiples of duplicates. A packrat will
take anything in that is offered to him working or not, even if he has no
space for it.
It's cause for serious personal reflection --
are you a packrat
or a collector? Packrat syndrome is serious, the cliche is a
house filled with bundled newspapers and magazines stacked to
the ceiling, that falls on the elderly 'rat, killing them, etc.
I know someone else with packrat-itis. I suspect it's rampant
in this list.
I'm confident it's rampant on this list. Sellam said "A collector
collects. A packrat accumulates." There's plenty of room for
semantics here. So where's the fine line between collecting
whatever you can get your hands on, and packrat-ism? It's slippery
slope, starting with one of something, then more for spare parts.
For some, the only upper bound is available space.
I could write a book on it. Many other people have. There are
many motivations, many potential causes and behaviors and beliefs
that perpetuate it. I'm all for a libertarian view of life that
lets people live in their parent's basement and collect old
computers, but on the other hand there's also room for advice
about what makes life worth living, and how an excess of possessions
can overwhelm your life. There is a cost to collecting / accumulating,
even if the computers are free.
- John