Historians have an increasingly strong incentive to tell dramatic stories which gain attention and make ‘impact’. But anyone in the business of reporting on reality… Read More »Ian Leslie on story as intellectual anaesthetic
“I’ll get it to you next week.” Discounting the future is a double-edged sword. First, we find it easier to commit to events further in… Read More »Double discounting the future
RULE TO KNOW WHEN THE MOVEABLE FEASTS AND HOLY-DAYS BEGIN EASTER-DAY, on which the rest depend, is always the First Sunday after the Full Moon,… Read More »Design Matters (21): Book of Common Prayer, built to last
It is a profoundly erroneous truism, repeated by all copy-books and by eminent people when they are making speeches, that we should cultivate the habit… Read More »Alfred North Whitehead on abstraction and civilisation
See also: 13-sided Einstein Hat-tip
With apologies for the hastily taken snap, and the fluff. There are two cup holders, both wide enough for a large mug or bottle and… Read More »Design matters (20): Ford Focus cup holder(s)
An arbitrary list, mostly of things I don’t usually think of as labour-saving devices: … and as with all devices, their value is multiplied because… Read More »Labour saving devices
These extracts are from Craig Mod’s excellent essay Let’s Talk about Margins, one of the many things worth reading at craigmod.com. Recommended. I saw a… Read More »Design Matters (19): Craig Mod on margins and attention to detail
“Ow-eee!” cried the Crocodile. “Help! Stop! Where am I?” Roald Dahl – The Enormous Crocodile [amazon] Is this the world’s worst elevator control panel? John… Read More »Design Matters (17): Elevator Control Panel Nightmares
These three maps in slightly different positions in Singapore’s Orchard MRT station are all orientated correctly according to the point of view of the user.… Read More »Design Matters (16): Singapore MRT maps