5 Comments

Back in college, I used to fix things as my work-study job. (I was good at knapping flint, or whatever the technology of the day way.) Even back then, problems usually resolved themselves when I got within a 6-foot radius of them. The thirteenth exception to Murphy's law: Anything that can go wrong will--unless in the presence of somebody who can do something about it.

Expand full comment

'knapping flint- lol, love that.

Have a friend who is a museum director. We were at a museum abroad, of Cro-Magnon era stuff. After wandering around a while, I found her mesmerized by a video of a researcher demonstrating knapping a flint. I asked why she was so absorbed for a long time watching this highly repetitive task. She responded, "But it's so well done!"

Expand full comment

:-)

Expand full comment

There's an old AI koan about that. Tom Knight, one of the developers of the LISP machine - an antique specialized computer for AI research - came across a user trying to get a LISP machine to reboot by turning it off and on again. Tom said, "You can't fix a LISP machine by turning it off and on again without knowing what you are doing." He then turned the machine off and then on again and it rebooted properly.

Expand full comment

I attached a Time Machine backup disk to my laptop with velcro and leave it attached at all times. I also recommend an offsite backup system like Backblaze that does an offsite backup. Computers are much reliable than they used to be, but it pays to wear both a belt and suspenders and not rely on good thoughts alone to keep one's pants up.

Expand full comment