bricoleur
Makes do resourcefully
A bricoleur is someone who creates or solves problems using whatever materials happen to be at hand, improvising rather than following conventional methods or using specialized tools.
The term comes from French, where it originally described a handyman or jack-of-all-trades.
In intellectual contexts, bricoleur describes a thinker who constructs ideas from diverse, available sources rather than working within established frameworks: He approached philosophy as a bricoleur, borrowing freely from psychology, literature, and folk wisdom.
Skilled at solving problems
- inventiveShowing original thought
- make-doManage with less
- ingeniousCleverly original in design
- adaptableAble to adjust readily
creative · unconventional · patchwork · collage · assemblage · improvised · ad-hoc · cobbled
Recreational pursuer of interests
- gadgeteerEnthusiast of small devices
- fixerOne who resolves issues
- tinkererHobbyist who adjusts mechanisms
- modifierWord altering another
tweaker · fiddler · dabbler · inventor · repairer · restorer · reworker · fabricator
French structural anthropologist
- structuralismAnalysis through underlying systems
- myth-makingCreating foundational narratives
- intellectualConcerning thought and reason
- postmodernSkeptical of metanarratives
Skilled manual tradesperson
- handiworkHandmade work product
- woodworkingCraft of shaping lumber
- potteryFired clay objects
- weavingInterlacing strands into fabric
leatherwork · metalwork · ceramics · embroidery · quilting · mosaics · basketry · carpentry
resourceful
Skilled at solving problems
adaptable · creative · unconventional · patchwork · collage · assemblage · improvised · ad-hoc · cobbled · jerry-rigged
hobbyist
Recreational pursuer of interests
- gadgeteerEnthusiast of small devices
- fixerOne who resolves issues
- tinkererHobbyist who adjusts mechanisms
modifier · tweaker · fiddler · dabbler · inventor · repairer · restorer · reworker · fabricator · experimenter
Lévi-Strauss
French structural anthropologist
- structuralismAnalysis through underlying systems
- myth-makingCreating foundational narratives
- intellectualConcerning thought and reason
postmodern · Derrida · deconstruction · anthropology · epistemology
artisan
Skilled manual tradesperson
- handiworkHandmade work product
- woodworkingCraft of shaping lumber
- potteryFired clay objects
weaving · leatherwork · metalwork · ceramics · embroidery · quilting · mosaics · basketry · carpentry · needlework
upcycling
Improving discarded materials' value
- repurposeAdapt for new use
- homemadePrepared at one's residence
- self-madeSuccessful through own efforts
handmade · how-to · tutorial · hack · project · creation · build · assemble · construct · customization
bricoleurengineer
Technical design professional
planner · methodologist · technician · precisionist · formalist