Curious Dilettantes #0002
Learn something that expands your mind, in less than 5 minutes each week.
The Eye
Jeff de Boer makes armor, but rather than spend upwards of a year at a time crafting metal cladding for humans, he focuses on smaller scale pieces for our furry friends. As with Walt Disney, de Boer’s metallic flights of fancy “…started with a mouse.” (link takes you to artist’s website, where you can navigate to his various social media presences)
The Mind
Most people equate innovation with pushing the boundaries of what is technologically possible. Nintendo’s formula for innovation, on the other hand, centers around a philosophy called “Lateral thinking with withered technology”, which has helped them accomplish breakthroughs that may not otherwise have been possible or commercially viable.
Pioneered by a Nintendo employee named Gunpei Yokoi, the philosophy espouses the use of well-known and mature technologies, combined together in novel ways, to develop breakthrough ideas.
Yokoi, the original MacGyver, was originally a machine maintenance worker, considered a low level job, because he had not done well in his electronics exams in university. The then president of the company saw Yokoi playing around with an invention that he’d created while tinkering around, and decided to commercialize it. Its success led to Yokoi being appointed to lead new games and toy projects, which culminated in global phenomena such as the Game Boy and Donkey Kong.
The core principle behind the philosophy, a curiosity about a multitude of things, and a broader range of experiences and perspectives, is examined in David Epstein’s book, Range.
The Machine
The field of geoengineering describes the deliberate effort to manipulate the climate to limit or reverse the effects of global warming. A startup called Make Sunsets has claimed that it has released weather balloons that have attempted to perform solar geoengineering to alter the climate by releasing reflective sulphur particles in the stratosphere, mimicking the natural phenomenon that occurs in the aftermath of large volcanic eruptions, when sulphur particles reflect sunlight back into space.
The Heart
Want to know whether you can really rely on someone to show up for you? Ask yourself if you’ve ever shared your saliva with them, whether through sharing food, kissing or some other interaction. This study from MIT neuroscientists shows that babies expect people who share saliva to show up for each other when one of them is in distress. Through their unfiltered perspective, they distinguish between ‘thick’ and ‘thin’ relationships by observing what two people are willing to share with each other.
The Wonder
If you or someone you care about is gluten-intolerant or has celiac, this gluten-free bread recipe will be a delightful addition to the recipe book. The use of Caputo Fioreglut gluten-free flour is an absolute must, and the recipe yields bread that tastes and feels just like your regular loaf. Look for the flour at your local Wegmans if you have one, to save some money.