Today Years Old

Sometimes we have revelations of very simple things that are obvious to the common people, but for some reason the universe kept this information from us making us appear foolish and slightly alien. Some other time we evade this knowledge because we haven’t given proper (could be 2 seconds) thought to that particular thing until some action forces us to. This realisation time is influenced by our upbringing, the interctions we have had with the world or our interests.

Below I itemize some of these (shamefully late) simple discoveries and their relevance:

• Puddles form because there is a concavity in the pavement. Important when cycling at speed over them
• Roman numbers are much easier to write than arabic ones. Important if you are trying to write numbers in non-ergonomic ways (fex, when moving)
  • This can be justified as writing numbers in stone is much harder than on paper, hence the number of smooth bends is non-existent for Roman numbers. The same holds true when writing numbers in the back of a drawer set with an ink-dry pen and holding the frame with your butt.
• Blowing on a (small) hole makes the filth come outwards. Close your eyes if you blow on a hole (fex, removing sawdust)
• Allen keys come out much more easily if at the end they are rotated slightly on the other direction. Especially true for small diameters or bad quality screws
• We have agency on a small things that add up and make our life a lot worse. Arguably one of the best revenues on quality of life
  • This deserves a blog post of its own, but some examples could be sticking to some suboptimal because of the friction of looking up the optimal way, not knowing a word and not looking it up, making order practical, having two sets of chargers, putting an extra layer when it is cold, etc.
• When learning a language often it is enough to ask for slower repetition. We tend to stress an switch to a common language, but most of the times a slower repetition makes us understand the message and we learn much more!
• We are constantly talking to people who have a 16 years old¹ understanding of things. Adapt our discourse when this is the situation
  • All years after that are divergence from the average person, and we end up in some very niche spots of knowledge that we take from granted but most people don’t even know they exist
• The back wheel of a bike will jet the water on the pavement to your back. Be prepared to end up wet or set up mudguards.
  • If the wheel is not straight it will jet to the side also wetting the back of your legs
• Calling is virtually free. Call the people instead of chatting with them, the quality of the interaction is much better + your hands are free.
• Caring for people is not far from linear with the effort. It takes very little to make someone happy
  • Also material for another blogpost
• Animation films thought for children are good to learn a language. They are learning the language, we are learning the language
  • Also they are enjoyable and not only teach simple words but these related to morality and values. Also it helps that we are familiar with such films beforehand
• Etc.