Practitioners and cheerleaders

It’s nice when someone articulates something (at least partly) that’s been dancing around the edge of your thoughts, so thanks to Pete Ashton who’s been thinking out loud about:

the distinction, sometimes subtle, sometimes blatant, between those who primarily identify as a practitioner of a medium and those who identify with the tribe of their tool reluctantly. Sometimes this maps to the degree of depth and wisdom they display, with the loudest cheerleaders for “the community” not being the best practitioners.

And also very much this:

The latter [the practitioners] tend to be those who, while they respect and have mastery of their tools, know that they are merely tools and a means to a higher end.