Six Things, Volume 96

Workbook | Every day | Enigma | Bamboo | Trolley | Horse

Thing 1 – Workbook

We might imagine that works of art spring fully formed from the creator’s soul, but anyone who has ever tried to write/draw/compose/create anything at all knows this is far from the truth. Sometimes artists try to shed light on their process, from P G Wodehouse’s reassuring “I just sit at the typewriter and curse a bit” to Michelangelo’s playful but still annoying “I created a vision of David in my mind and simply carved away everything that was not David.”

One thing I find fascinating is to get a glimpse into the development of an idea – the noodlings, the crossings out, the things that never see the light of day – and to see it taking shape. So it’s a special treat when an artist opens up their sketchbook and says, “here – this is what I do”. We can’t see what goes on in their head, but when they share some of what spills out of it on the route to creation, it’s an opportunity not to be missed.

So it was good to watch this three-minute video in which Anthony Gormley shows us some of his workbooks. It left me wanting to see more of the same thing.

---

Thing 2 – Every day

Noah Kalina has taken a photograph of himself every day for 25 years. He was 19 when he started, and I assume he intends to continue until he no longer can. As he says, “we all know how this ultimately ends”.

I like the doggedness with which he’s pursued this project.

I like the way he’s presented it (you can filter the results according to year, month, location, the inclusion of other people, whether he’s wearing a beard, whether there’s a cat in the photo etc, which is quite fun).

And I like that one of the 47 days he’s missed since the start of the project was because he crossed the International Date Line, a circumstance usually only relevant in mystery fiction.

---

Thing 3 – Enigma

“There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know.” – Donald Rumsfeld

In an age when people like to know things, or think they know things, or pretend they know things, it’s refreshing to find a site dedicated to the gaps in our knowledge. Wikenigma is just that: “an encyclopedia of unknowns”. Whether it’s exactly who came up with bicycle pedals, the etymology of the word ‘curmudgeon’, the science of hair greying or the relevance of digit ratio to the skill at Sumo wrestling, sometimes it’s good just to say “we don’t know”.

---

Thing 4 – Bamboo

“Today, there are 2,479 registered bamboo scaffolders in Hong Kong.”

One of the many things I didn’t know was that bamboo is still widely used in Hong Kong as a scaffolding material. I’m delighted that this gap in my knowledge has been plugged by this excellent visual essay. Exactly how much of this knowledge I’ll retain is an entirely different matter.

---

Thing 5 – Trolley

The trolley problem is, I think, familiar to most people. Do you allow the trolley to continue and kill five people, or intervene, thereby killing one?

Neal Agarwal has explored this idea to absurd lengths. The answers tell us much about human nature.

And for more gameplay (do you splat a homeless drug addict or a kitten and a dog?) there’s this version – see if you can get through it with the lowest possible body count.

But if you want the answer to knotty philosophical problems, always ask a child.

---

Thing 6 – Horse

On this day 174 years ago, Leo Tolstoy went to a party, fell in love, and bought a horse he didn’t need. Which of us hasn’t?