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I think the word "mundane" is out of place. Whoever isn't fascinated by the modern power grid is slightly dead inside. The same applies to a ton of other "mund

• xenihn 10y ago
  >Whoever isn't fascinated by the modern power grid is slightly dead inside. The same applies to a ton of other "mundane" things, like road and rail networks, sewage systems, garbage disposal and recycling, and so on. I feel like the vast majority of people have absolutely no interest in learning about these things, even in a calamitous context.
  • mememachine 10y ago
    how unfortunate for them
    • GavinMcG 10y ago
      I agree, but I down voted the comment for now because it doesn't really contribute anything to the conversation and doesn't seem like it means to.
  • Cyph0n 10y ago
    Definitely, but how does that relate to the power grid being a mundane system? Are you saying that we're supposed to take the word of the majority when deciding if something is "mundane"? In that case, almost everything we're discussing and upvoting here on HN is "mundane", because <90% (just a guess) of humans actually give a shit.
  • will_hughes 10y ago
    > I feel like the vast majority of people have absolutely no interest in learning about these things True, but shows like How It's Made are incredibly popular, even if they give a very very surface view of the details.
• hanoz 10y ago
  That's only because those with contempt for the mundane hold sway on the connotation of the word, essentially "of the world", and therefore quite rightly more fascinating than any of the airy fairy arty farty nonsense favoured by those higher ups.
• GavinMcG 10y ago
  Aren't we all slightly dead inside, then? I'm sure there are things you take no interest in, until it's pointed out to you.
  • Cyph0n 10y ago
    Agreed: nobody is interested in everything. If someone was talking about the 19th century Slovakian art movement, I'd probably zone out. But there are some complex systems that form the basis of civilization that just cannot be simply dismissed as "mundane", at least in my opinion. Systems that, without their presence and correct end-to-end operation, would result in absolute collapse of civilization. Systems that have been developed and perfected through the work of countless scientists, engineers, and laborers over the span of decades. The power grid falls into this category, while the aforementioned 19th century movement does not. Of course, I'm probably not aware of all such systems, and I'd definitely be delighted when someone points one out. Heck, I only learned about the complexity of HDTV standards throughout history on a HN thread today! It does not fall under the category I noted above, but I still found it deeply interesting.
    • danieltillett 10y ago
      I am interested in everything - even 19th century Slovakian art movements. I love talking to people who are interested in anything other than themselves - it really doesn't matter what as long as they are interested in something enough to have learnt and thought about the topic in some depth. The real shame is so few people are interested in anything at all.
      • Cyph0n 10y ago
        Honestly, that's an awesome attitude to have, as people nowadays have a much shorter attention span (myself included!). And yes, I agree: it's getting harder and harder to hold a deep conversation with someone on a technical topic, even in a professional setting. Or perhaps I'm just not looking correctly?
        • 10y ago
• paganel 10y ago
  > The same applies to a ton of other "mundane" things, like road and rail networks, sewage systems, One of my still-on-the-shelf projects is to photograph, geo-locate and categorize all the manholes from my city that have been installed prior to WW2 in order to document how the city evolved over time (surprisingly enough my city still has manholes from the early 1900s), because a city with no working sewage system cannot be called a "city".
  • knz 10y ago
    Check with the city first - in the US they often have a management program due to the need to inspect manholes. Depending upon how advanced they are they may even have georeferenced photos and age information.
  • thesmok 10y ago
    I live in Kyiv, Ukraine. I know a guy here who's hobby is exploring the old underground tunnels – sewage, overflow channels, catacombs. He's making a map of these because there's currently no official complete map. He often finds places there in a very alarming state – like, about to collapse and create a huge hole in the ground – and reports this to muni service so they can fix it and prevent a disaster.
• dghf 10y ago
  > I think the word "mundane" is out of place. I think it's perfectly fine. "Mundane" means "commonplace", "everyday"; it's an antonym of "exotic". Some people use it in a slightly derogatory fashion because, unlike you, they don't appreciate the complexity and ingenuity of many mundane things. Which is a shame, but I think sadly inevitable, as many (most?) are designed to be unobtrusive; the only time you should notice a sewage system, say, is when it goes wrong.