# Hands on

*Staying close to the creation of things.* Casey Cavanagh, 2026-10-13. https://caseycavanagh.com/notes/hands-on

“What should we make?”

I asked this to my 5-year-old, Lily, as we sat down to play with Wikki Stix[^1] this morning.

“You can make whatever you want!” she said back to me.

Damn, kids are so wise.

I want to approach my work, my side projects, my music, with that same wide-eyed wonder that my kids do.

Now, more than ever, we can make whatever we want. With AI and technology, we can pretty much create whatever we put our minds to. That is pretty incredible!

But it’s also dangerous.

It’s dangerously easy to offload everything to AI. And in a pursuit of speed, automation, and efficiency, I’m afraid we’ll start offloading creativity, critical thinking, and perspective.

Those things are uniquely human, and they’re something I don’t ever want to give up. I still want to have my hands in the creation of things. Even as the tools advance and change, I am resisting the urge to outsource my thinking and creativity.

Let’s remember to use our minds, use our hands, and go make whatever we want.

I made a pig.

![A pig made from a pink Wikki Stix: a round body, a smaller round head with two pointed ears, and a curly tail, lying on a wooden table.](https://caseycavanagh.com/notes/what-should-we-make.jpg)

[^1]: Remember those? https://www.wikkistix.com/

*Proof of human: Human Written (100% human) according to Pangram 4.1, checked 2026-10-25. Report: https://www.pangram.com/history/24210b56-b45b-4cf7-b346-6b77d7dc8ae7*