The Four Hobbies, and Apparent Expertise by [[Marc Brooker]]

Most hobbies, sports, and areas of interest can be split into four quadrants by an individual's particular sub-interest along the lines of doing/discussing versus the activity/gear for the activity. Many people will self-select into one of the four at the expense of the other three and this can affect the type and tenor of communities around that particular activity.

Excellence in one area doesn't imply excellence in the others. "True" fanatics ought to attempt to excel in all four quadrants.

Congratulations on that beautiful machine!

Don't listen to the nay-sayers who likely have very different priorities and esthetics. If this is your machine, and you love it, then "own it".

It does look like a standard (as opposed to portable) typewriter. (Standards are often better and more robust typers due to their size and design.) Likely a Model 1 or Model 2, but I don't have specific knowledge beyond a cursory glance at the typewriter database. You can start by looking at examples of machine types and bodies at https://typewriterdatabase.com/smithcorona.86.typewriter-serial-number-database.

From there, the Model 1 says "Electric Serial Numbers Concurrent with Standard", so scroll down the page and see if you can identify a year based on a serial number you should be able to find underneath the hood. You can try https://typewriterdatabase.com/Smith+Corona.Standard.86.bmys, but I don't see any later models there, so perhaps no one has documented one before and you could be the first.

Then start with Richard Polt's site https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/ where you may likely find a manual and if you're lucky a repair manual. Surely there will be a few manuals for similar 50s standard S-C manual typewriters which should at least get you started. His site has a wealth of other information to give you pointers. His book The Typewriter Revolution (2015) has good intro chapters on cleaning, basic repair, and restoration. YouTube may have some useful videos as well. The typewriter database will have some later model S-C electric machines which you might try searching for on YouTube as well and it's highly likely that the design changes weren't so drastic that those may help you significantly.

For basic cleaning, try https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjumGF9NFE8 which has some solid advice. Obviously take care with respect to getting the electrical portion of your machine wet.

I've not done any electric machines before, but if I recall, I seem to have read/heard (maybe from Tom Hanks who I know has a 50s electric Smith-Corona) that the early electrics only went as far as doing power for the keys, so it should be reasonably repairable if it doesn't work out of the box.

I'm sure you'll love it. With any luck, you'll also get some serious enjoyment and sense of accomplishment out of cleaning it up. If nothing else, it'll give you a wealth of experience in making the attempt and you can apply that to other machines if you continue collecting and typing. Some of my first machines weren't immediate "successes" until after I'd been able to tinker with others and was able to come back to them with a more experienced hand.

Have fun with it!

reply to https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1cuzy04/please_can_someone_identify_this/

@ruthy01 discusses her hobbies, specifically reading, writing, and educating others, and how these activities have contributed to their intellectual abilities and personal relationships.

What: @ruthy01's hobbies, which include reading, writing, and educating

Why: The author enjoys these hobbies because they have improved their intellectual abilities and personal relationships with others.

When: The author started reading in elementary school and has continued with their hobbies since then.

How: Reading has helped the author discover new words, improve spelling skills, increase reading speed, and learn about new innovations and ideas. Writing is used as a means of expressing feelings and ideas. Educating others brings the author joy and motivates them to study more. These hobbies have also built the author's self-esteem and personal relationships with others.

Example of a small Weis steel card index which was used by a coin collector who had custom index cards made for tracking a collection.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/235342975576/

A.R. Moxon. (2022, January 12). “I want my life back” is a hell of a thing to say much less publish when 5.5 million people have actually lost their actual lives. Https://t.co/COjnsnFhc1 [Tweet]. @JuliusGoat. https://twitter.com/JuliusGoat/status/1481401663588122627

What's the difference between a problem (addiction) and a hobby? Where does obsession fit in?

https://www.animatedknots.com/

This looks awesomely cool.

I'd like to learn more about what Azevedo means by accountability

thinking about all of the distinctions between the different types of participation.

how does this shape the child's identity?

how does this shape the child's identity?

identity

are these some of the resources perhaps?

are these possible resources? hopefully an explanation will follow and I can expand on this.

Reminds me of Nasir and the importance placed on relational resources. These relationships with others at the star parties helps to strengthen the sense of belonging. There is continued learning as they converse and point out new things to one another, which "increases connection to the practice," as Nasir would say.

Once again the importance of 'natural' conversation. Not forced or content driven, but completely interest based.

Social interactions as a form of resource; whether through small chats or larger conversations, they are learning through knowledge/experiences of others.

Here the author highlights the importance of tangible goals within the field of practice or hobby. Is this goal a form of 'resource'? These goals are important because this is where the drive to participate in the community is key and pushes the learner to break past a newcomer to the community.

So far I've seen lots of connections to guided participation. The original interest--trains--was informed by the child, but further participation was structured by the parent. The child continues to show interest (at least for a while) and the parent provides a "facilitation approach" to guiding them, and much like the adult leaders in the youth activism groups, the parents provide guidance, resources, facilitate conversations, etc. The parents don't seem as likely to provide the apprenticeship or joint work method, probably because the interest is viewed more like a hobby--and a parent might not always see interest-based learning as quite as valuable as "highly specific forms of learning" (Azevedo) which is present in schools. So while the parent will support the child, it may not be at the level of apprenticeship/joint work method as discussed in Kirshner.