The Old Hats are frustrated today and not feeling their usual generous selves. On a usual day, we are happy and relived to be asked 'Will this work" before a purchase is made, because it gives us a chance to spare Dear Newbie the expensive and soul crushing mistakes we have made. But lately though, it seems the questions are asked without forethought and the complex answers given are over-generalized or ignored outright in favor of convenience or romanticism.
Since no one likes to see a beloved mentor in mental distress, I thought I'd give a few thoughts on why the query "Will it work" is being received less generously.
Our objective is to tell a story. It doesn't matter if it's at a battle re-enactment, a living history show-n-tell, a museum, or gallery exhibit... we have a story to tell.
We are telling the story of a person or people in the past. We share who they were, what they might have felt, how they lived, how The War impacted them (or didn't), what they thought and why that might have made sense to them, where they've been, where they are, and where they hope to go.
Each of the things we choose helps us tell that story. The wardrobe helps us tell the story. The housewares help us tell the story. The environment helps us tell the story.
Because each of the Things helps us tell the story, we must make each choice with care. Not just any old Thing will do. It must be a specific Thing that reflects the choices that might have been made by the people of the story we are telling.
It is easy to say "this Thing was available, therefore, I choose it." That Thing was likely not the only Thing available and we want to make sure the version you choose supports the specific story you are telling.
So, just like you go through your list of questions when choosing your wardrobe, apply your questions to your housewares and environment too.
Could I spoon-feed you an answer of "buy this"? Yep, sure I could. But you would not understand why I recommended that Thing among all the Things available.
If I lead you through a thought process on how your Thing will support or confuse your story, you will decide for yourself what is the right choice of Thing and more easily defend your choice to others with independently verifiable sources.
