Is it?* Don’t say it unless you’re sure.** *Brief depends on context, but in the absence of a clear norm a 5 minute presentation – 10 minutes including pre- and post-amble – is a good rule of thumb. **Even if you are, it’s probably better to say how long – and always say it will be five minutes longer than…
Category: tools and techniques
This episode of Akimbo is a thoughtful look out our tendency to seek more of what we like – whether loud music or extreme sports or money or beauty. In a nutshell:It’s almost inevitable that we’ll experience diminishing satisfaction from a given amount of whatever brings you pleasure, so we’re always seeking to turn the dial to eleven (out of…
A detailed plan is useful when you know what you’re doing: when you (or others) have done the thing, or when you’ve been somewhere before. If you know where to go and how to get there a map saves a great deal of time and energy. But detailed planning is less useful when you don’t know the way: when you’re…
“Educated” is different from “smart”. Each should help with the other, but if they don’t, the problem lies with the education.
Just a list of the sorts of things that I find to be / create stimulating or “high learning” environments (is there a better term for this?). Interact with an AI – even if not the latest – in a text based adventure game Subscribe to a newsletter (this one? this one? this one?) Start a newsletter Specialise in cooking…
Kevin Kelly is reliably insightful and thought-provoking and often fascinating. I don’t think I’ve ever read or listened to something of his that hasn’t made me see the world (particularly technology) in a new way, and with my curiosity piqued to find out more. Today’s recommendation is for a new series of 36 short lectures he’s sharing on YouTube about…
… is an underappreciated skill. It goes beyond tidying up and things having a place, to the details that lift the atmosphere and make things kondusif* to whatever you’re up to. Things like: Tweaking the lighting Adding the right music Eliminating an annoying background sound Table decorations Well thought through stationary or tools Appropriate art or other prompts Well designed…
If, like me, you’d like to understand maths a little (read: a lot) more than you do*, you’re likely to enjoy MIT professor Daniel Kleitman‘s amusingly named Calculus for Beginners and Artists. It’s bit of a treasure trove. Highlights so far include (feel free to groan): Rational Numbers are so-called because they are “ratios”, not because something makes them more…
You set out running at a pace that’s brisk but well within your limits and find yourself struggling and out of breath. You’re in decent shape, but you get short of breath climbing stairs. In both cases you struggle not because you’re unfit, but because your body is unprepared for the exertion. Before you start exercising your system is getting…
I suppose this is a meta-recommendation: the tool is the Cool Tools podcast, featuring Mark Frauenfelder and Kevin Kelly. If you’re into or interested in one or more of… Technology and internet stuff DIY and craftiness Electronics / makerism Gardening Books, publishing and design Conversations with interesting people Tools! … then you are likely to enjoy this podcast. It’s shortish…