June 26th, 2012
The moai (or the statues on Easter Island) have been the subject of a lot of research but some new details (at least to me) seemed to have lately. First, something I didn’t know – the statues have bodies. And second, National Geographic recently published a report and video showing how these statues may have been put into place.
June 20th, 2012
Dr. Drang heats his water up in the microwave for 2 minutes and 40 seconds. Here is why it isn’t a moment longer:
The annoyance came from the turntable in the microwave and the handle on the measuring cup. I’d put the cup in with the handle pointing out, and 2:45 later I’d open the door and the handle was around to the other side. The cup was too hot to grab elsewhere, so I had to snake my hand around to the back to reach the handle. Not a big deal, but after months of doing it I finally realized that this wasn’t just some unlucky streak. The position of the handle when the microwave turned off wasn’t random, it was determined by the speed of the turntable (which I had no control over, but was constant) and the time I set (which I had complete control over).
Lazy? Genius? Sometimes the difference is indistinguishable. Remember the Walter Chrysler quote:
Whenever there is a hard job to be done I assign it to a lazy man. He is sure to find an easy way of doing it.
/via Marco Arment – who knows a thing or two about being anal.
April 17th, 2012
My friend Abby wishes people would slow down and take the time needed to explain things.
Details have such little value to many people. No one wants to hear the whole story, they just want you to get right to the point. [...] In my mind it would be helpful to explain how I arrived at a certain problem…but all that they want to hear is the ending.
Sometimes the entire story is in the details. Context is everything. The fact that more and more people are getting used to getting entire stories from headlines, sound bites, and tweets means that people’s knowledge may very well be missing the most important parts. The details.
Abby continues:
Don’t get me wrong…I’m not sitting here disgruntled with all humans. It’s just my observation. Someone out there will listen to the details.
Sadly this is a number that is shrinking rather than growing and I’m unsure if the trend is possible to counteract. More and more people would rather understand complex concepts by being told or learn how to cook recipes in less and less time. Great things take time. If you’re one of the few that appreciate that and you see yourself slipping into this trend, slow down, relax, and look at the details.