Hacker News Reader

> That model depended on personal wealth or (more often) patronage.

"They make something for themself, .."

For the vast majority of people this means doing it on the side, in addition to their day-job. I've known a lot of artists in my time and we all have day jobs. You do art for yourself because you love to create, not expecting to make any significant money on it.

View on HN

Right, which works great if your daytime job is being a professor at Oxford, but maybe less so if your only opportunity is farm labor or other physically exhausting job.

Today, more people have the opportunity to dabble in art than ever before.

He started writing his stories long before he was a Professor. It was while he was a young man fighting in the First World War.

Right, which works great if your daytime job is fighting in the trenches, but maybe less so if your only opportunity is software development or other mentally exhausting job.

Bravo lol

Personally I've found it much easier to sustain creative stuff on the side while doing a non-knowledge-based job than a knowledge-based one. Mental exhaustion is much more of a drag than physical. (Though the knowledge-based hours were longer too, which I'm sure was a factor.)

Reply on news.ycombinator.com