The classroom across the hall from my office is currently being remodeled into interview rooms for the Psychology department (we traded it for some laboratory space in the basement). As a result, my usual office soundtrack of KEXP streaming over the web has been supplemented by, well, whatever the guys doing the remodeling happen to be listening to.
Thus, I can report that carpernters and electricians listen to classic rock radio, while painters appear to favor Rush Limbaugh. I’m sure this information is the key to some deep insight into American mass culture, but I have no idea what it means. Other than that I need to close my door when they’re painting.
And that I’ll do damn near anything to postpone writing the “statement of teaching goals” for my tenure materials…
Painting is quiet work, carpentry is frequently loud. Music is less lossy than talk.
Ray, does that imply that carpenters would choose Limbaugh if they worked more quietly? I need to see some more data. For example, are painters generally older than carpenters (or probably carpenters’ helpers)?
Painting is quiet work, carpentry is frequently loud. Music is less lossy than talk.
Ah, but the electricians also favored music, and they hardly made any noise. They did kill the power to my office once, but it was done quietly…
Tradesmen earn their livelihoods by physical creation. They can differentiate between quality and crap. They want somebody to tell them what they earned will not be stolen from them by jackbooted State compassion and fed to pigs. Is there something wrong with being an ooo-RAH! American who kills enemies without hesitation and exercises the pursuit of happiness within the resulting peace?
Enjoy it while it lasts. As with an opened bottle of Lagavulin, there is only so much America remaining to be savored. It’s over when somebody pisses in the emptied container.
The last painter I worked with had a PhD in Kinesiology and worked without any auditory support. The last carpenter I worked with sported a long beard, wore a single earring that he designed and made himself, and was a Vietnam vet. He also worked without auditory accompaniment. The last electrician I worked with was an early designer of computers. He also eschewed auditory extras. Not sure if any of them fit any model.
“Ah, but the electricians also favored music, and they hardly made any noise”
Statistically insignificant outliers. Also, electricity work is very loud, just in another, very small dimension that you can’t detect.
(or maybe the electricians are used to working in noisy environments, even though they are themselves quiet. Painters arrive on the scene when the breaking and the drilling and the monkeys are finished)
Carpenters actually prefer NPR. Studies prove this.