People are indeed buying Super Soakers instead of just using a hose.

The point of this comparison is that they aren’t at all the same thing. People don’t want things that barely work and few have the time to learn new skills to craft what they want in an acceptable quality. Could any able-bodied adult pick up a knife and whittle themself a spoon? Probably. Most of those spoons are going to suck though and you can get one at Target for a couple bucks. It’s a position that feels out of touch.

I’m all for taking care of what you have and repairing rather than replacing when possible, and I’d love to collectively move away from plastic crap, but saying “just learn to make bread with all the free time and functional kitchen you for sure have” helps nobody except the speaker patting themself on the back.

Flexible sure but not exactly easy. There’s a lot of choices to make at every level and many of the feats have prerequisite, earlier feats so you functionally have to plan your entire expected progression up front.

I don’t want 25 cents worth of checkerboard, I want a decent wooden object that doesn’t make me feel like I live in a dumpster. And most people want a sturdy piece of decorated, folding cardboard that will last a century if nobody spills juice on it.

Your position sounds a lot like “why do you kids need Super Soakers anyway, we have a perfectly good hose.”

“End of life care” is entirely optional. I’m not going to waste away in a hospital bed, that’s for sure.