There are few things that make me appreciate modern life more than watching Primitive Technology‘s videos. When one actually sees the step-by-step process that goes into even the simplest technologies from human history, it makes it all the more amazing that humanity not only developed these technologies but developed so far past them that I can write this post and that you can read it. It is so easy in life to take cell phones, the internet, motorized vehicles, and a host of other innovations for granted, and yet when I watch these videos I find it hard to take for granted things as primeval as fire, agriculture, and weaving, let alone pottery, metallurgy, and the like.

As a mere exposition of these technologies and processes, it is undoubtedly successful, but I think the greater success of the channel is the editing and pacing of the videos. The experience of watching is a meditative one — when each step of the process is shown in its entirety (barring some time-lapse sequences for especially repetitive tasks), one has no choice but to begin to settle into a mindset conducive to the appreciation of this slow, deliberate work. This is true not only within a single video, but across the entire catalog of videos. I don’t know exactly how many times I’ve watched John start a fire, gather iron ore, or shape a brick, but it’s far from too many to maintain interest when he does so. If anything, these fundamental tasks that shape the technology we see get better every time as I recognize more components of the process and am better able to spot subtle alterations in material, environment, or technique.

The final aspect of this channel that I admire is the “madcap inventor” feel. The presence of failed experiments is used as a learning opportunity and makes the successful ones seem all the more genius. Even if I, in principle, know exactly how a water wheel or a pulley works, these basic implements still amaze me when I see what it takes to build them truly from scratch.