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That time my geology professor told me flint knapping was easy and I spent 6 hours with a rock in my hand.
I took an intro archaeology class last fall at a local community college. The professor was this older guy who kept saying anyone could learn to knap a basic arrowhead in an afternoon. So I asked him for a demo and he handed me a chunk of obsidian and a copper bopper. First hit I made was too hard and the whole piece shattered into little chips. He just shrugged and said try again. After six hours over three days I had a lumpy triangle that barely looked like a point. My thumb was blistered and I had tiny cuts all over my fingers. Turns out that guy had been knapping since he was a kid so his idea of easy is totally different from a complete beginner. Has anyone else had an expert totally underestimate how hard their specialty is to learn?
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uma_baker881mo ago
Wait, did you end up with a functional point after all that or was it basically a chunky weird shape? I'm curious if that lumpy triangle you made actually cut anything or if it was just a rock that kind of looked like it was trying to be an arrowhead. Because I feel like if I spent six hours on something and got a lumpy triangle, I'd be both proud and also deeply disappointed at the same time. Also, did your professor ever admit that maybe his "easy" was totally different from normal people easy?
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derek991mo ago
Knew a guy in the military who swore anyone could learn to field strip a rifle blindfolded in a weekend. Handed me a disassembled M16 and said go for it. After four hours I had tiny springs and pins scattered across the table and a part left over that looked important. He just laughed and said it clicks together if you do it right.
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