The mobile connection with my car broke. Nothing seemed to fix it. I feared I had to take it to the dealer. Some investigation in the web showed a potential solution which implied accessing the debugging environment of the electronic system. I did it, it worked.
My relationship with the car changed the moment I did this. I don’t know, it felt more mine that before. I had accessed some obscure feature of the car, I had managed to use it and fix a problem. I was proud of my agency, I now knew my car better, I felt a deeper connection with it.
That’s what I think now: fixing things changes your relationship with them. We should all fix our things. Buy less, fix more. Or better said: fix more to buy less.
DHH said with Alex Friedman that he releases half baked open source products so that others have the chance to fix or improve them. More engagement.
The IKEA effect of finishing the product at home.
Installing and running Linux is a constant exercise of troubleshooting.
Activities that involve a challenge and demand skill from us create emotional engagement. We proved our worth by doing them.