“Competency porn” is a genre of media where the audience gets to revel in the ecstasy of people doing their jobs well. Some of the best examples to me are Andy Wier stories like The Martian or Project: Hail Mary, where a good-humored egghead pushes the limits of his noggin to evade certain death in space. But if you want something a little closer to Earth, then Phil Edwards has your ticket.
Specifically, it’s a ticket to the National Truck Driving Championships in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the country’s best drivers maneuver commercial trucks around a variety of obstacles for a shot at gold—made all the more whimsical by their rubber duck mascot. In an AI-saturated world that pits man against machine and tries to de-skill the labor force, there is something very satisfying about watching a driver, like a sci-fi hero who’s honed a symbiotic relationship with his mech, park it with all the satisfaction of a DVD logo finally hitting the corner of your TV screen.
Check your mirrors, throw it in reverse, and give it a watch.