“Unless he is a physicist, one who rides on the streetcar has no idea how the car happened to get into motion. And he does not need to know.”
       - Max Weber
“I need to know.”
       - Dave Conz

From carburetors to cultures, Dave Conz is curious about how things work and how they break; how they're made and how they evolve. He's discovered that our social institutions are just as complex and difficult to understand as galaxies and molecules.

“Some diagnostic situations contain a lot of variables. Any given symptom may have several possible causes, and further, these causes may interact with one another and therefore be difficult to isolate. In deciding how to proceed, there often comes a point where you have to step back and get a larger gestalt ... The gap between theory and practice stretches out in front of you, and this is where it gets interesting.”
       - Matthew Crawford, Shop Class as Soulcraft

Is Crawford referring to science policy or a vintage motorcycle? Both.

"If you don't have the right equipment for the job, you just have to make it yourself."
       – MacGyver, Season 2, Out in the Cold

Conz is interested in the similarities and differences between professionally-trained, institutional scientists and engineers and their self-taught, hacker, DIY counterparts. As a participant observer, he's been making biodiesel fuel from waste vegetable oil since 2002 and beer, wine and cider since 2009. Dave holds a Ph.D. in Sociology with a focus on Science and Technology Studies, an MA in Interdisciplinary Humanities on the Technology & Culture track, a BS in Aerospace Studies with minors in Psychology and Humanities, a Certificate in Motorcycle Repair, and a Commercial Instrument Pilot's License. He is passable as a drummer and mediocre as a welder. Conz, sometimes referred to as “Professor Moonshine,” has two pet chickens, Pepper and Fanny, who regularly provide him with breakfast.