Response to How Does the Smithsonian Collect Artifacts?

An artifact is meant to be like a time machine. It can transport you to a place and time where the object would be experienced. An artifact gives you insight to the type of people who might use the object. So, an artifact is not just the object itself, but how it was used and who used it. A good artifact should provide a full sense of history. A sense of environment.

That is what I’m trying to do with my hardware modder book, Inner Workings. It shows hardware and tools that such a person would use. It also showcases broken and disassembled hardware to evoke the sense of curiosity that hardware modders have toward technology.