How To by Randall Munroe (March 2020)
How To did a great job of simplifying, applying, or translating intimidating scientific concepts into relatable examples. For instance, 'natural equilibrium' makes more sense when Munroe says it means the slowest player always becomes 'it' in a game of tag. The explanations for why forty-eight minutes is the maximum speed for traveling around the world (1 G of horizontal acceleration) or what faster than light travel might look like to an outside observer (simplified relativity) were a little more challenging but I thought they accomplished the same conversational tone of the tag example.
The most useful idea is one of three candidates:
- Sin means treating people as things.
- Forecast with averages in stable or long-term areas, otherwise use persistence methods (checking and rechecking conditions).
- Historic name popularity within a group can help us guess the average birth year.
I wasn't fully convinced by the suggested implications of the fact that pirates rarely buried treasure (just once, apparently, in all of recorded history). I think by now enough people have internalized the original fiction to become able imitators. It's probably not enough to justify following a map in order to locate a specific pirate's treasure, but I've heard enough stories about people finding buried 'treasure' to think the imitators have turned fiction into fact, at least in the sense of making the dirt more valuable hunting ground than meets the eye. Still, I'd say there are more productive ways to spend time, or to make money.
I liked the thought that mocking people when they admit to some ignorance is a great way to shut down future discussion. Mockery is an antidote for nothing, unless you have been falsely accused of competence. Something I will always try to remember, and perhaps make some use of in the remainder of this election year.
TOA POWER RATING: Three pirates out of four
TOA POWER RATING: Three pirates out of four
