Bricoleur Extrordinaire

Bricoleur is a term that you might hear from time to time with respect to the new skill set associated with web based learning or web based anything for that matter. I found a discussion and definition of the concept of Bricoleur
'bricoleur' is still someone who works with his hands and uses devious means compared to those of a craftsman" (16), i.e., handyman or woman, gypsy, as opposed to specialist. A bricoleur is an ordinary person, like one of the citizens of the republic, not only in the French revolution, but also in a postmodern, postcybernetic revolution. A bricoleur does the best that she or he can do with what is at hand."

Wikipedia also has an entry on Bricolage.

Having little formal training in computers or technology I have mostly used "work arounds" tricks and gadgets as opposed to comprehensive systematic approaches. I am remined of an old favorite song from Paul Simon, One Trick Pony where ....

He makes it look so easy
He looks so clean
He moves like God's
Immaculate machine
He makes me think about
All of these extra movements I make
And all of this herky-jerky motion
And the bag of tricks it takes
To get me through my working day
One-trick pony

Lo and behold I found out that that is "the" system of the new networked universe in which we find our selves and there are a whole patch work of tricks that get us through our working day.

Bricolage is also an artform. My mother is heavy into this from time to time. It involves building things out of small strips and pieces of other things. Very attractive and engaging.


I find that just about anything I do with respect to the Internet involves learning and I find that incredibly engaging. I'll talk more about motivation at another point but I recognize the power of the observations made by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his book Finding Flow: the Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life.