22 ms·

How my genius roommate changed my perspective

549 points by FarhadG 5y ago

_3lpn 5y ago
Very cringey article, tell me you have limited creative abilities without telling me you have limited creative abilities.
- pentae 5y ago
  Yes, it's almost a bit like people parroting TikTok memes.
- Cipater 5y ago
  I think that people who "cringe" at regular stuff are projecting their own neuroses.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
fb03 5y ago
Industrious, yes! Genius, I'd say no. And that's a good thing. No amount of genius can convert ideas into results if you don't have the 'put the work in' perspective of a hard worker. Congrats!
Wistar 5y ago
Very weird coincidence. This morning before I read this post, as I was trying to respond to a comment from a friend about "rubber band, bailing wire and bubblegum solutions," I began searching google for a reference to a related French word I had read about many years ago but couldn't remember. That word, which I eventually found in a google books excerpt, is bricolage. I was very surprised to read this post only a few minutes later.
- pwillia7 5y ago
  good bader meinhoff
froh 5y ago
tl;dr a creative roommate refits a bed frame as a multi purpose table and workbench and opens the eyes and the heart of the author to "hack the physical world" to fit his needs.
- mdp2021 5y ago
  Some other people started by seeing that they could modify pre-existing compiled code to better fit their needs.
- RaiausderDose 5y ago
  after the bed part I wanted to quit reading, it was so simple and the bed looked modern not like "we were poor as dirt!" workbench was cool though
  - FarhadG 5y ago
    (Author here) Although we were not rich, the group wasn't that poor either. We were fortunate as a group to have fun with what we had...
geocrasher 5y ago
s/genius/resourceful and creative/g That's not a slight. But being resourceful (and creative, of course) is what was displayed. There was no evidence of genius. Being resourceful and creative means using what you have on hand to achieve a goal. For example, I wanted to make a gift for a friend who loves dinosaurs. I used old bicycle parts and various bits of metal I had left over from other projects and made her a 3 foot tall T-Rex. She loved it! Money spent = $0. Am I a genius? Probably not. Was I resourceful and creative? Definitely. Perhaps for people who don't have a "hack the world!" mindset, it does appear as genius I suppose.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- johnchristopher 5y ago
  > Perhaps for people who don't have a "hack the world!" mindset, it does appear as genius I suppose. That's just a turn of style. With that being said perhaps there's something in common between the stereotypes of hackers and genius, and that's not flattering I suppose.
- h0l0cube 5y ago
  I think the author was adding a little sensational flair to the title, not trying to make a definitive attestation of their roommate's genius
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - mobb_solo 5y ago
    I never once thought that I was clicking on this post to behold a tale of True Genius. Nor did I expect that OP believed that. I think the title reflects that semantic sentiment.
- johnorourke 5y ago
  I think 'genius' is a relative term.
sandreas 5y ago
Nice article. Unfortunately there is a limitation to this way of thinking in my daily business - the WAF ;-) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wife_acceptance_factor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wife_acceptance_factor Luckily the articles' principle doesn't only apply to building furniture. Edit - Clarification: This comment describes only my personal situation and should in no way harm anyone. It is a satiric way of stating out that if you are not alone in your apartment you have to 1. Respect others feelings when rearranging your stuff or putting new things in 2. Regard the importance to build something aesthetical / beautiful rather than only useful I would love to see the author having emphasized these two aspects.
- tibbydudeza 5y ago
  Ha you got us there - there is also WHF (Wife Hiding Factor). What is the new thing on your desk (splurged on a Mac Pro) - no my dear I always had it - got it from Craigslist/gumtree for a steal.
  - wdfx 5y ago
    Finally there's the WCF - Wife Compensation Factor; "Here, I bought you one too."
- noduerme 5y ago
  Yeah this is why when my gf let on she's a big Frida Kahlo fan, I suggested we keep living in separate houses. Mine is a paradise of clean dishes and vacuumed rugs. Hers is like a girl's dorm room with bras and underwear all over the floor. It's great to not feel judged hah.
  - hellbannedguy 5y ago
    You had me at Hellbanned from HN for 8 years, and not realizing it. Me too. I didn't even know what HB was until this site, and I wish I didn't know it today. Always felt it was passive aggressive petty move.
- y4mi 5y ago
bch 5y ago
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” -George Bernard Shaw Edit: proper attribution
- programmer_dude 5y ago
  Aren't you misattributing the quote? https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/536961-the-reasonable-man-adapts-himself-to-the-world-the-unreasonable https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/536961-the-reasonable-man-a...
  - scollet 5y ago
    GMS
    - croisillon 5y ago
      B?
      - scollet 5y ago
        Game Maker Studio???
      - scollet 5y ago
        It's George, Man, and Superman, but I don't put esoterica past you. It was just a silly joke.
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) I've heard this before and it's a good reminder.
programmer_dude 5y ago
Did you not make a Youtube video about this like a decade ago? edit: Don't get me wrong I am happy you re-posted this. I just want to know if I have seen this before.
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) I wanted to start writing again and decided to make this my first post on my site. Much more to follow on math, philosophy, etc. Thank you for the kind words.
- abdulhaq 5y ago
  He disassembled the video and turned it into a blog post
- greybox 5y ago
  Yeah I read this blog post about 5 years ago I think - So glad I've found it again though!
  - greybox 5y ago
    Funny it's been re-posted as new though, I wonder if the author is the original one ....
    - lotsofpulp 5y ago
      I bet the whole post is an ad for the wim hof nonsense.
      - FarhadG 5y ago
        (Author here) However wish I was true, that would've been nice to make an affiliate link :) jking.
      - iJohnDoe 5y ago
        Glad someone else noticed. I knew I read this many years ago. Not complaining though.
tibbydudeza 5y ago
Wow - that guy would make an awesome engineer.
- mikkelenzo 5y ago
  My thoughts exactly
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) As a composer, he was able to put together music beautifully. It extended to all aspects of his life.
hirako2000 5y ago
Am I the only one thinking of a hoseless washing machine and a wide open wardrobe that will be rather complicated to sell?
- fragmede 5y ago
  sounds like they were students at the time - put the parts back before you move out and no one that cares will even notice
  - 2muchcoffeeman 5y ago
    There are no regular inspections in a place like that? The pictures clearly show a drill and saw dust. Which is what I would expect from repurposing closet doors. You couldn't put that together without significant damage to the furniture. In most western countries you just lost your bond. No idea how permissible they are in China.
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) I should make this point more clear in my article. Once you realize how much extra materials are sold (e.g. hose length) to ensure it meets a wide range of customers, you realize you can do much to tailor the final result to your needs.
artisinalbread 5y ago
I feel like author was never before in a frugal situation. These kind of things were common in student dorms (may be not to the scale of putting in hard work on making a table have wheels to move). I love the situations that surrounds with limitations to test your creativity in fulfilling your needs.
- rini17 5y ago
  You assume everyone is innately inclined to improve his/her living space in this way in frugal situation? That's not true. There are plenty of poor families which don't do that (for various reasons such as WAF explained in this forum). It's common in student dorms because it's kind of tradition, students learn to do it from one another. Still it can be surprising to freshmen if they haven't encountered it before.
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) While I can understand your perspective, the way and approach he took in solving these problems was very different. It wasn't because we didn't have the means, it was just his way of expressing himself in solving the problem at hand.
deltron3030 5y ago
Bricolage, a collage of bricks (or building blocks) isn't it?
- omega3 5y ago
  It just means do-it-yourself, it comes from the verb bricoler. Nothing to do with the collage of bricks.
mightyRodri 5y ago
I mean, when I am allowed to just take the seats out of my neighbours Porsche I can get myself a nice chair. That doesnt make it genius o.O
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) Depends on which model Porsche ;)
icu 5y ago
This reminds me of an 80s tv show called MacGyver which impressed on me as a kid that you can use what you got to get out of tricky situations. I've done loads of different things as a result of this attitude. The only time I stopped to think about the show's wider influence was when I was at University (some time ago) in the Engineering building with my best friend (an Engineering student) and a phone went off with the MacGyver theme. When I told my friend I thought that was cool (these were the days when you had to pay for novelty ringtones) he casually remarked that a lot of the Engineering student body had the MacGyver ringtone and MacGyver had a huge influence on students enrolling for Engineering. After reading this article I wonder if there are MacGyver-esque influences on younger generations? I haven't come across any YouTube channels or shows on Netflix, Prime or Disney Plus that would interest my 7 year old son and capture his imagination like MacGyver did for me as a kid. Having said that, in true MacGyver fashion I started teaching my son Chemistry last weekend using a whiteboard, YouTube and some Minecraft analogies.
- no_time 5y ago
  >After reading this article I wonder if there are MacGyver-esque influences on younger generations? Just type "Lifehack" into youtube and search. Extremely low signal to noise ratio in videos made with monetization above all else. It's quite tragic. A counterexample would be colinfurze[0] who makes very entertaining and inspiring videos. Apart from being a two legged OSHA violation his content is top notch. [0]: https://www.youtube.com/user/colinfurze https://www.youtube.com/user/colinfurze
  - icu 5y ago
    Thank you very much! I think my son will love the 'real life' Minecraft digging a secret tunnel series colinfurze has made.
  - marginalia_nu 5y ago
    One of the few genres of YouTube videos I can stand is "old man dismantles electronics". It's a very peaceful and educational genre. Here are some channels I like: https://www.youtube.com/c/Techmoan https://www.youtube.com/c/Techmoan https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtM5z2gkrGRuWd0JQMx76qA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtM5z2gkrGRuWd0JQMx76qA The latter channel is perhaps not great for children because of his somewhat relaxed attitude toward mains voltage, but it's great for me.
brobdingnagians 5y ago
Reminds me of the story of Zhuangzi, the Chinese philosopher, on how one thing can be used in very different ways: There was once a man from Song who was skilled at making ointment for chapped hands. For generations, his family had made their living by washing raw silk. A traveler happened to hear of it and offered to purchase the formula for a hundred catties of gold. The man called his family into conference and said, ‘For generations we’ve made our living washing silk and never earned more than a few pieces gold. Now we can sell our formula and earn a hundred catties of gold in an instant. Let’s give it to him!’ Once the traveler had the formula, he went to the court of Wu to persuade the king to use it in dealing with his troublesome neighbor state of Yue. The king put him in command of his forces to engage Yue’s navy in a midwinter river battle and the forces of Yue were routed. The King of Wu carved a slice from his newly gained territory and rewarded the traveler with a fief. The traveler and the silk washer were alike in possessing the formula of preventing chapped hands; one used it to gain a fief, the other to wash silk – it was in the use of the thing that they differed." [1] [1] https://factsanddetails.com/china/cat3/sub10/entry-5581.html https://factsanddetails.com/china/cat3/sub10/entry-5581.html
- riddleronroof 5y ago
  Plot twist: thé travelled was Bill Gates.
- AussieWog93 5y ago
  For anyone else who is unfamiliar with old Chinese measurement systems, Wikipedia specifies the catty at around 600g. This means that the family received about 60kg of gold, or around US$3.6m at today's spot prices - a handsome reward for their valuable formula. Even in the ancient proverbs, capitalism is the optimal way to allocate resources, and this efficient allocation benefits all. Someone should let Xi know about this. ;)
  - vimacs2 5y ago
    Yes, very efficient. Meanwhile nearly all of the peasantry subsisted on rice and suffered from malnutrition and frequent birth defects. Also, this has nothing to do with capitalism. It's just exchange of money which had existed long before that system first developed in the city states of Italy.
Cybiote 5y ago
Oh this sounds like Macgyvering. The Real Life section in the TV tropes article on it has some interesting examples and lists some other cultural takes on it: desenrascanço, débrouillard, Jugaad. It's a skill clever poor people are more likely to have opportunities to hone. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MacGyvering https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MacGyvering
nobrains 5y ago
This is amazing. My dad is like this, very resourceful with very less and creative with the limited resources he has as hand, and has lived/survived through life like this. But there is a problem now. As a family, thanks to the incomes of the kids, have enough to survive (and thrive), but he continues with his efficiency-only approach, instead of the just-buy-it approach. - So, we see plastic bottle based plant pots all over our house, instead of normal clay or terracotta plant pots, which look a bit better. - We see DIY style visible piping and hosing to achieve drainage around the house where required, instead of hiring a professional plumber to have hidden piping (which would cost more) - You come home one day and there is spray paint smell everywhere because of yet another (although very useful) project, and that paint causing asthma related problems to the kids (his grandkids) - Etc. And now I am confused. I am not sure to tell him to stop (and kill one of his interests in living life) or to etl him continue (while the rest of the family continues being majorly inconvenienced). Note that, we are a subcontinental family, and living in a joint-family is very common, and moving out is not an option for me (it will kill him more than asking him to stop). (Also, while writing this it was very helpful. I think while writing this, I have decided that I will let him continue, as my inconveniences are much slight compared to the damage it will do him and his, I guess its called "agency")
- Aulig 5y ago
  Tough to say, I can see how some of that can be bothersome. But once it impacts others health there has to be a limit in my opinion. Maybe he can do the spraypainting outside or in a garage?
- jacquesm 5y ago
  I'd say let him be. After all, it got him this far and it clearly satisfies him, those factors may well weigh higher than having a better or prettier solution, and there really isn't anything wrong with being frugal. I'm a lot like your dad, but maybe a bit wealthier and yet, the number of one-off tinkering solutions around the house is rather higher than you would probably expect in a normal household and yet apart from some frustration when things are a bit messy for a while due to some project on the whole it is a net positive. If my ability to do this would be circumscribed a lot of the joy would go out of my life.
m0ck 5y ago
This painfully reminded me of my dad, who passed away earlier this year. We grew up as a family of 5, in small, 3 rooms flat in the block-of-flats from communist era. The way he made use of every single centimeter including the walls and ceiling still amazes me to this day. He was working with computers his whole life, but I haven't met anyone as handy as him. He built custom closets, cupboards, bunk beds, shelves, tables, perfctly designed for the dimensions of our flat, all without fancy tools and materials. My parents had their beds in our living room, but when we had event for our extended family, the whole room could be turned into something entirely different in 30 minutes, everything served multiple purposes. Whenever something needed to be done, or fixed, he disappeared into the "pile of useless junk" he kept in our basement and always came back with the right wire, pipe, or plank that did the job perfectly. Although I think I can be quite creative in some areas, unfortunately when it comes to manual work I am nowhere as gifted as him and am happy when I manage to change a lightbulb or hammer a nile.
- foxhop 5y ago
  I love you. Thank you for telling me about your father. I carry his light having been shown from my father. It comes easier with practice and many mistakes are made to make it appear effortless. Most of the work happens in the imagination with eyes closed.
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) Thank you for sharing a deep part about yourself and your family. If you ever decide to share more about what your father built and how he did it, I'd love to also learn from his wisdom and approach. This is why Hacker News is my homepage. Thank you for sharing.
doctoboggan 5y ago
There is something very fulfilling (at least to me) about working this way. Not solving the problem in the best way, but solving it in the way you can _right now_. When I was younger this was how I solved most problems, but in my professional life I can't really do that (and for mostly good reasons). I follow someone on YouTube who moved to a small island in Panama, built his house, many boats, and lots of other items by hand using what he has. He is definitely crazy but he personifies this get it done attitude. A few years ago I travelled to Africa to volunteer at a hospital and was tasked with fixing an oxygen machine. I had to channel this YouTuber because there definitely was not the right tools and I definitely needed to get it done. I honestly surprised myself in how I was able to fix it and it was quite fulfilling.
- the_only_law 5y ago
  > When I was younger this was how I solved most problems, but in my professional life I can't really do that I find the same, mostly because my motivation to solve problems has changed significantly.
- serg_chernata 5y ago
  Jamie's channel is one of my all time favorites. I love watching him work exactly because of his general attitude toward problem solving and how different it is from mine.
  - nier 5y ago
    https://m.youtube.com/user/JMEMantzel/videos https://m.youtube.com/user/JMEMantzel/videos
  - OJFord 5y ago
    Can you suggest one as an 'entrypoint'? I watched a couple after Matthias Wandel mentioned him, but they were a bit.. well, even the comments were saying things like 'that's it he's really fallen off the deep end now'.
    - detritus 5y ago
baremachine 5y ago
lol dis a comment
VoodooJuJu 5y ago
Wouldn't call it genius, but certainly resourceful. In many cultures, this resourcefulness is not uncommon. Interesting how it is such a novel concept to the author, but second-nature to others.
- lbriner 5y ago
  I'm ashamed to admit to the number of times I am impressed by someone from a third-world country not only being resourceful but being able to create much more than I could from much less. I think of William Kamkwamba creating windmills from car parts. We need to remember that "education" is not the only way to achieve, some people are just wired up well and education comes from many more places than school! (I also believe in schools btw)
  - OJFord 5y ago
    We really are constrained by having so much. The Einstein quote in the article 'The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.' is a good one - but it's resources too, having so much interferes with us putting things together. Related I suppose is 'analysis paralysis' - becoming so bogged down in working out the ideal way to do something, which parts shall I buy (I have access to all of them and the means for many of them after all!), how shall I do it, should I use my computer and education to model and parameterise it first, determine the properties I need from my materials to operate under the conditions I want, etc.
  - yoz-y 5y ago
    Reminds me of a story when a friend was moving places in China. Now this is a second order account so the details are hazy. He had arranged for the movers to come in and take his stuff. When the time came the bell rang and the person on the other side said "I'm here". My friend was puzzled as he had quite a bit of stuff, weren't there supposed to be more of them? Turns out it was indeed just one mover on a scooter. But he was still able to move everything in a couple of trips by tricks like carrying the fridge on his back with aid of some straps and bundling and hanging everything. When I was in China I saw people transporting all kinds of stuff on scooters and some were really impressive. One time I thought a lorry was coming and it was just somebody carrying really _a lot_ of empty plastic bottles strapped onto them.
darkwater 5y ago
TIL https://www.wimhofmethod.com/ https://www.wimhofmethod.com/ Does this have any real, proven by data reliability? or is it just self help-like material focused on alpha-males?
- unkulunkulu 5y ago
  Did you actually hear him talk? There is no need to be insecure about your body’s abilities. Not only “alfa” males can do things. “He can do it you can (potentially) do it” sounds quite proven to me, do you disagree? So the only question (for me) is “can he do what he says he can”.
  - penjelly 5y ago
    wim had world records in ice diving and has worked with researchers on studying his breathing technique. that said, HE IS AN ANOMALY. Hes been shown to have higher brown fat percentage then the average male (including his own twin). so no, just because he can do crazy things like dive into a frozen lake for X minutes doesnt mean the average person can. That said. the breathing exercises and cold showers DO have a positive physiological effect and they are worth doing, even if you dont become superhuman overnight. do his breathing technique every morning when you wake up, its like a very potent meditation that makes you feel good. im about to do mine now.
    - robocat 5y ago
      > Hes been shown to have higher brown fat percentage then the average male Cause, or effect? I think you are implying he was born an anomaly, rather than that he has become special using his techniques.
- foxhop 5y ago
  I'd say Wim is more of a sigma male than an alpha. The breathing techniques allow the practitioner to traverse space time without death, in cold and low oxygen environments. Check out the highlights from David Blaines "Ascension"
- 5y ago
zz865 5y ago
The landlord is going to kill them.
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) On the contrary, the landlord was was flexible with our group since our apartment was promised to be ready in 2 weeks but we didn't have hot water for 8 months—including Beijing's winter
lbrito 5y ago
Side note, wasn't the genius roommate afraid of getting a huge fine for repurposing furniture?
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) Landlord found it amusing. She had much bigger problems in ensuring the unit was completed.
tiepoul 5y ago
I can definitely agree that close friends also affects on how you think.
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) Over time, I've found that my environment affects me much more than I had ever thought.
alex_smart 5y ago
In India, we have a word for this type of "engineering" - jugaad. A great tool to use at an individual level. A terrible mindset to have as a society.
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) First time I've heard about this. Care to share more?
  - tta 5y ago
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugaad https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugaad
    - htek 5y ago
      Another perspective... https://www.indiatoday.in/opinion/shahana-basu-kanodia/story/jugaad-cultures-hollow-innards-india-today-155524-2013-03-07 https://www.indiatoday.in/opinion/shahana-basu-kanodia/story...
  - primitivesuave 5y ago
    In India, you will find all kinds of homemade vehicles on the streets and similar ingenious use of existing materials, although it seems to be mostly applied toward providing a service or making street food (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rnG91loNzk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rnG91loNzk).
chasd00 5y ago
reminds me of my old roommate in college, we had to fit 5 guys in a two bedroom apartment. He found/stole/bought (not sure which) some old scaffolding. He painted it and then got some 2x6's and made two queen sized bunk bed frames. So we had two decent sized beds in each room. Then, the last guy was on the couch (he was only there for the summer then back to the dorm).
stefap2 5y ago
Hope he puts the wardrobe back together, otherwise landlord won't be happy.
turdnagel 5y ago
Good article. I feel very comfortable doing this with code and not so much with physical material, where the constraints are much more imposing and the risk of screwing something up is much higher. Based on my experiences with programming, I imagine part of being able to think this way is also having experience building things physically. The fact that I can think about connecting pieces of backend infrastructure, or bits of reusable code, or a wiring up a handy library to solve a problem is from experience solving problems with the tools at hand. Probably the best way to get started with this mindset in any problem domain is to just start making things, getting a feel for the capabilities of tools, the strengths of various materials. In other words, the attitude adjustment is just one part of being able to solve problems this way - you've got to be very comfortable with your tools and materials, or have little to lose so you can experiment safely.
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) As a software engineer, I'd love to know more on how you apply this.
  - turdnagel 5y ago
    Two principles I see at play here are fluency (a mapping between a desired action and the physical action of using a tool) and parsimony (building something in the simplest or cleverest way to achieve the goal). You get fluency through practice and the parsimony comes through experience, a kind of wisdom - similar but I different concepts. With software engineering, I think when you're comfortable with the syntax and capabilities of the language you're working with, you get fluency. And then once you have experience using the standard library and some common external libs, you learn parsimony.
runjake 5y ago
I am like Zhang. I directly blame watching a lot of MacGyver and A-Team as a kid. Those shows really got me thinking obtusely, combined with being poor and not being able to go out and just buy what I needed. Now it just comes naturally.
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) I'd love to hear more on how you think about problems and what motivates you in doing so...
FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) I am deeply humbled by your engagement, comments, critiques, and insights. Needless to say, this inspires me to write and share more. Thank you Hacker News. You are truly one of a kind.
- jareklupinski 5y ago
  keep on hacking brother :)
- Uhhrrr 5y ago
  Thank you! I'm curious about what that guy is doing now?
  - FarhadG 5y ago
    (Author here) Zhang's experimenting a ton with 3D printers, making short films, and conducting music. The way I see it, there's much more to come from him...
js2 5y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necessity_is_the_mother_of_invention https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necessity_is_the_mother_of_inv...
DantesKite 5y ago
A lot of the commenters here are the embodiment of the “Actually” meme, critiquing the least important parts of the story, like an editor looking for a typo, rather than engaging with the spirit of the story. This isn’t a code base waiting for review.
- frazbin 5y ago
  And if it were, stop anyway! Humanities classes are sposed to help us engage with content like this, but stem students often don't take them seriously (
Dumblydorr 5y ago
I think the word genius is a bit click-baity in this title. Genius is Einstein's year 1905, it's Beethoven writing profoundly inspirational, timeless works while fully deaf. If we cheapen the term genius down to creative maker, or PhD level mathematics, or moving some planks of wood around, I feel we cheapen the greatest insights of historys bonafide geniuses.
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) I share your sentiment and it's something I often reflect upon. However, I'm also cautious of not attributing `genius` to events based on results. I feel that would limit my ability to look at situations and judge intelligent (and perhaps genius) [decision making] because I would have to wait for results and—only then—dictate whether the person was intelligent (or a genius). I'd love to know how you think about this term and how you use it.
- jbluepolarbear 5y ago
  Where does this value of only a few can be genius’ come from? Anyone with an exceptional gift, be it intelligence or creativity, is a genius. Using your genius to make a great lasting impact is something only a few will accomplish, but it doesn’t cheapen their accomplishments to call others genius.
  - Dumblydorr 5y ago
    It's the word's definition, it's language that matters here. If I say every musician is a virtuoso, it cheapens the playing of Hiromi, Chick Corea, and Coltrane. If I say every athlete is a superstar, it cheapens the label for Lebron and Giannis. If we say someone who repurposes wooden furniture is a genius, it cheapens the monumental feat of Einstein publishing multiple Nobel-worthy articles while writing in evenings after getting home from clerking at a patent office. The definition of genius is not "resourceful" or "creative", it must indicate a profound mind who greatly improved human society through their intellect. We shouldn't use terms like genius to drive content to our blogs, unless the word is warranted. That is why I believe it's click bait.
honkycat 5y ago
I love stories like these. In college, I slept on a futon in a filthy studio apartment. My desk was a piece of wood I put on the arms of a chair, while sitting on the edge of my futon. It worked OK. I don't lionize this state of being. My more comfortable peers had better grades and had more fun.
saeranv 5y ago
Random question: how does that "book bench" work in the first image of the blog? I can't figure out why the suspended books on the "bench seat" aren't just sliding down, given the lack of lateral force pushing them together. My best guess right now is that compressing the spine of the books inwards, naturally creates a moment force on the covers that pushes the page-side of the book outward. So the whole thing works like a truss bridge, with compression on the top, and tension on the bottom. I may be overthinking this though...
- readams 5y ago
  You definitely can't get tension from books that are simply pressed together. I think more likely the books are glued together, and possibly reinforced with a cable or rod threaded through the center.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- Fezzik 5y ago
  Probably lots of glue and maybe resin, though it doesn’t look like it’s coated in resin… maybe some screws/nails that are artfully places. It doesn’t look free/standing to me though.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - saeranv 5y ago
    You're right, screws and nails make sense. Glue, I think, would shear as soon someone sat on it.
- riidom 5y ago
  This book bench is awful. What a devaluation. Saw the picture, immediately came to the comments and searched for "books" to vent about it. Now I am able give that article a second chance.
GhettoComputers 5y ago
Thanks for the article. I didn’t know the French had a term for it. Did he come from an impoverished background? The raw ingenuity and creativity from locally sourced or owned parts for free material is most commonly found in weed smokers making smoking tools, but I love and use what your roommate did all the time. I’m pretty biased against the raspberry pi and nearly every project I saw was achievable with old computers that would be free, but there’s not much glory in talking about using a netbook for ad blocking or a server over a shiny SBC that’s a real computer (like the real ones you probably already own, have better specs, negligibly more power usage, and are collecting dust). My grandfather would collect garbage for building material and build things with it like a bench, a raised platform in the basement because it flooded, and old fan motors to make kitchen ventilation. He loved watching this old house.
prewett 5y ago
Very creative approach! I'm curious whether they got the deposit on their apartment back, given that apartments in Beijing are usually furnished, so probably the furniture was the landlord's. Could go either way: the landlord might be impressed at the added utility, or upset at the changes.
redwood 5y ago
My day to day experience with this is cooking with what happens to be available in the kitchen
jll29 5y ago
Thanks for sharing this impressive story. What happened to your room mate professionally?
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) I'm glad you enjoyed it. Zhang continues to exercise his creativity in composing music, making short films, and building with 3D printers.
fferen 5y ago
I did similar things many times, though not as sophisticated. Using a chair on a table as a standing desk, etc. It's fine but at some point becomes an eyesore and makes you want some proper things.
pseudoramble 5y ago
Nice post. I have nothing in particular to add to this post except that several moons ago I worked with the author for a brief time. So it was surprising to see this name pop up here again. He's an interesting fellow who does some interesting dev work, last I checked was with WebGL, and I believe was writing a book at the time too. At that time, and due to the circumstances, I was kind of cranky and probably not terribly fun to be around. But I enjoyed getting to know @FarhadG through that time though. So if you happen to see this, hope all is well!
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) Just did a quick search and I'm so delighted to hear from you. Strange that you considered yourself as "cranky." Really? I mean, really? I genuinely thought you were THE most helpful and approachable dev. You were always receptive and open to problem solving. Thank you for reaching out. You made my day. Hope our paths cross again.
  - pseudoramble 5y ago
    Maybe it was more in my head than I realized, but I was in a bad place at the time. So it feels that way looking back on it. I appreciate the kind words!
forix 5y ago
Reminds me of the main character from the movie 3 Idiots (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/3_idiots https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/3_idiots).
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) Great movie and I see the reference.
chernevik 5y ago
Or, My Life With A Motie

549 points by FarhadG 5y ago

Very cringey article, tell me you have limited creative abilities without telling me you have limited creative abilities.

pentae 5y ago
Yes, it's almost a bit like people parroting TikTok memes.
Cipater 5y ago
I think that people who "cringe" at regular stuff are projecting their own neuroses.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

fb03 5y ago

Industrious, yes! Genius, I'd say no. And that's a good thing. No amount of genius can convert ideas into results if you don't have the 'put the work in' perspective of a hard worker. Congrats!

Wistar 5y ago

Very weird coincidence. This morning before I read this post, as I was trying to respond to a comment from a friend about "rubber band, bailing wire and bubblegum solutions," I began searching google for a reference to a related French word I had read about many years ago but couldn't remember. That word, which I eventually found in a google books excerpt, is bricolage. I was very surprised to read this post only a few minutes later.

pwillia7 5y ago
good bader meinhoff

froh 5y ago

tl;dr a creative roommate refits a bed frame as a multi purpose table and workbench and opens the eyes and the heart of the author to "hack the physical world" to fit his needs.

mdp2021 5y ago
Some other people started by seeing that they could modify pre-existing compiled code to better fit their needs.
RaiausderDose 5y ago
after the bed part I wanted to quit reading, it was so simple and the bed looked modern not like "we were poor as dirt!" workbench was cool though
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) Although we were not rich, the group wasn't that poor either. We were fortunate as a group to have fun with what we had...

geocrasher 5y ago

s/genius/resourceful and creative/g That's not a slight. But being resourceful (and creative, of course) is what was displayed. There was no evidence of genius. Being resourceful and creative means using what you have on hand to achieve a goal. For example, I wanted to make a gift for a friend who loves dinosaurs. I used old bicycle parts and various bits of metal I had left over from other projects and made her a 3 foot tall T-Rex. She loved it! Money spent = $0. Am I a genius? Probably not. Was I resourceful and creative? Definitely. Perhaps for people who don't have a "hack the world!" mindset, it does appear as genius I suppose.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
johnchristopher 5y ago
> Perhaps for people who don't have a "hack the world!" mindset, it does appear as genius I suppose. That's just a turn of style. With that being said perhaps there's something in common between the stereotypes of hackers and genius, and that's not flattering I suppose.
h0l0cube 5y ago
I think the author was adding a little sensational flair to the title, not trying to make a definitive attestation of their roommate's genius
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- mobb_solo 5y ago
  I never once thought that I was clicking on this post to behold a tale of True Genius. Nor did I expect that OP believed that. I think the title reflects that semantic sentiment.
johnorourke 5y ago
I think 'genius' is a relative term.

sandreas 5y ago

Nice article. Unfortunately there is a limitation to this way of thinking in my daily business - the WAF ;-) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wife_acceptance_factor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wife_acceptance_factor Luckily the articles' principle doesn't only apply to building furniture. Edit - Clarification: This comment describes only my personal situation and should in no way harm anyone. It is a satiric way of stating out that if you are not alone in your apartment you have to 1. Respect others feelings when rearranging your stuff or putting new things in 2. Regard the importance to build something aesthetical / beautiful rather than only useful I would love to see the author having emphasized these two aspects.

tibbydudeza 5y ago
Ha you got us there - there is also WHF (Wife Hiding Factor). What is the new thing on your desk (splurged on a Mac Pro) - no my dear I always had it - got it from Craigslist/gumtree for a steal.
- wdfx 5y ago
  Finally there's the WCF - Wife Compensation Factor; "Here, I bought you one too."
noduerme 5y ago
Yeah this is why when my gf let on she's a big Frida Kahlo fan, I suggested we keep living in separate houses. Mine is a paradise of clean dishes and vacuumed rugs. Hers is like a girl's dorm room with bras and underwear all over the floor. It's great to not feel judged hah.
- hellbannedguy 5y ago
  You had me at Hellbanned from HN for 8 years, and not realizing it. Me too. I didn't even know what HB was until this site, and I wish I didn't know it today. Always felt it was passive aggressive petty move.
y4mi 5y ago

bch 5y ago

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” -George Bernard Shaw Edit: proper attribution

programmer_dude 5y ago
Aren't you misattributing the quote? https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/536961-the-reasonable-man-adapts-himself-to-the-world-the-unreasonable https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/536961-the-reasonable-man-a...
- scollet 5y ago
  GMS
  - croisillon 5y ago
    B?
    - scollet 5y ago
      Game Maker Studio???
    - scollet 5y ago
      It's George, Man, and Superman, but I don't put esoterica past you. It was just a silly joke.
FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) I've heard this before and it's a good reminder.

programmer_dude 5y ago

Did you not make a Youtube video about this like a decade ago? edit: Don't get me wrong I am happy you re-posted this. I just want to know if I have seen this before.

FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) I wanted to start writing again and decided to make this my first post on my site. Much more to follow on math, philosophy, etc. Thank you for the kind words.
abdulhaq 5y ago
He disassembled the video and turned it into a blog post
greybox 5y ago
Yeah I read this blog post about 5 years ago I think - So glad I've found it again though!
- greybox 5y ago
  Funny it's been re-posted as new though, I wonder if the author is the original one ....
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    I bet the whole post is an ad for the wim hof nonsense.
    - FarhadG 5y ago
      (Author here) However wish I was true, that would've been nice to make an affiliate link :) jking.
    - iJohnDoe 5y ago
      Glad someone else noticed. I knew I read this many years ago. Not complaining though.

tibbydudeza 5y ago

Wow - that guy would make an awesome engineer.

mikkelenzo 5y ago
My thoughts exactly
FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) As a composer, he was able to put together music beautifully. It extended to all aspects of his life.

hirako2000 5y ago

Am I the only one thinking of a hoseless washing machine and a wide open wardrobe that will be rather complicated to sell?

fragmede 5y ago
sounds like they were students at the time - put the parts back before you move out and no one that cares will even notice
- 2muchcoffeeman 5y ago
  There are no regular inspections in a place like that? The pictures clearly show a drill and saw dust. Which is what I would expect from repurposing closet doors. You couldn't put that together without significant damage to the furniture. In most western countries you just lost your bond. No idea how permissible they are in China.
FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) I should make this point more clear in my article. Once you realize how much extra materials are sold (e.g. hose length) to ensure it meets a wide range of customers, you realize you can do much to tailor the final result to your needs.

artisinalbread 5y ago

I feel like author was never before in a frugal situation. These kind of things were common in student dorms (may be not to the scale of putting in hard work on making a table have wheels to move). I love the situations that surrounds with limitations to test your creativity in fulfilling your needs.

rini17 5y ago
You assume everyone is innately inclined to improve his/her living space in this way in frugal situation? That's not true. There are plenty of poor families which don't do that (for various reasons such as WAF explained in this forum). It's common in student dorms because it's kind of tradition, students learn to do it from one another. Still it can be surprising to freshmen if they haven't encountered it before.
FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) While I can understand your perspective, the way and approach he took in solving these problems was very different. It wasn't because we didn't have the means, it was just his way of expressing himself in solving the problem at hand.

deltron3030 5y ago

Bricolage, a collage of bricks (or building blocks) isn't it?

omega3 5y ago
It just means do-it-yourself, it comes from the verb bricoler. Nothing to do with the collage of bricks.

mightyRodri 5y ago

I mean, when I am allowed to just take the seats out of my neighbours Porsche I can get myself a nice chair. That doesnt make it genius o.O

FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) Depends on which model Porsche ;)

icu 5y ago

This reminds me of an 80s tv show called MacGyver which impressed on me as a kid that you can use what you got to get out of tricky situations. I've done loads of different things as a result of this attitude. The only time I stopped to think about the show's wider influence was when I was at University (some time ago) in the Engineering building with my best friend (an Engineering student) and a phone went off with the MacGyver theme. When I told my friend I thought that was cool (these were the days when you had to pay for novelty ringtones) he casually remarked that a lot of the Engineering student body had the MacGyver ringtone and MacGyver had a huge influence on students enrolling for Engineering. After reading this article I wonder if there are MacGyver-esque influences on younger generations? I haven't come across any YouTube channels or shows on Netflix, Prime or Disney Plus that would interest my 7 year old son and capture his imagination like MacGyver did for me as a kid. Having said that, in true MacGyver fashion I started teaching my son Chemistry last weekend using a whiteboard, YouTube and some Minecraft analogies.

no_time 5y ago
>After reading this article I wonder if there are MacGyver-esque influences on younger generations? Just type "Lifehack" into youtube and search. Extremely low signal to noise ratio in videos made with monetization above all else. It's quite tragic. A counterexample would be colinfurze[0] who makes very entertaining and inspiring videos. Apart from being a two legged OSHA violation his content is top notch. [0]: https://www.youtube.com/user/colinfurze https://www.youtube.com/user/colinfurze
- icu 5y ago
  Thank you very much! I think my son will love the 'real life' Minecraft digging a secret tunnel series colinfurze has made.
- marginalia_nu 5y ago
  One of the few genres of YouTube videos I can stand is "old man dismantles electronics". It's a very peaceful and educational genre. Here are some channels I like: https://www.youtube.com/c/Techmoan https://www.youtube.com/c/Techmoan https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtM5z2gkrGRuWd0JQMx76qA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtM5z2gkrGRuWd0JQMx76qA The latter channel is perhaps not great for children because of his somewhat relaxed attitude toward mains voltage, but it's great for me.

brobdingnagians 5y ago

Reminds me of the story of Zhuangzi, the Chinese philosopher, on how one thing can be used in very different ways: There was once a man from Song who was skilled at making ointment for chapped hands. For generations, his family had made their living by washing raw silk. A traveler happened to hear of it and offered to purchase the formula for a hundred catties of gold. The man called his family into conference and said, ‘For generations we’ve made our living washing silk and never earned more than a few pieces gold. Now we can sell our formula and earn a hundred catties of gold in an instant. Let’s give it to him!’ Once the traveler had the formula, he went to the court of Wu to persuade the king to use it in dealing with his troublesome neighbor state of Yue. The king put him in command of his forces to engage Yue’s navy in a midwinter river battle and the forces of Yue were routed. The King of Wu carved a slice from his newly gained territory and rewarded the traveler with a fief. The traveler and the silk washer were alike in possessing the formula of preventing chapped hands; one used it to gain a fief, the other to wash silk – it was in the use of the thing that they differed." [1] [1] https://factsanddetails.com/china/cat3/sub10/entry-5581.html https://factsanddetails.com/china/cat3/sub10/entry-5581.html

riddleronroof 5y ago
Plot twist: thé travelled was Bill Gates.
AussieWog93 5y ago
For anyone else who is unfamiliar with old Chinese measurement systems, Wikipedia specifies the catty at around 600g. This means that the family received about 60kg of gold, or around US$3.6m at today's spot prices - a handsome reward for their valuable formula. Even in the ancient proverbs, capitalism is the optimal way to allocate resources, and this efficient allocation benefits all. Someone should let Xi know about this. ;)
- vimacs2 5y ago
  Yes, very efficient. Meanwhile nearly all of the peasantry subsisted on rice and suffered from malnutrition and frequent birth defects. Also, this has nothing to do with capitalism. It's just exchange of money which had existed long before that system first developed in the city states of Italy.

Cybiote 5y ago

Oh this sounds like Macgyvering. The Real Life section in the TV tropes article on it has some interesting examples and lists some other cultural takes on it: desenrascanço, débrouillard, Jugaad. It's a skill clever poor people are more likely to have opportunities to hone. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MacGyvering https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MacGyvering

nobrains 5y ago

This is amazing. My dad is like this, very resourceful with very less and creative with the limited resources he has as hand, and has lived/survived through life like this. But there is a problem now. As a family, thanks to the incomes of the kids, have enough to survive (and thrive), but he continues with his efficiency-only approach, instead of the just-buy-it approach. - So, we see plastic bottle based plant pots all over our house, instead of normal clay or terracotta plant pots, which look a bit better. - We see DIY style visible piping and hosing to achieve drainage around the house where required, instead of hiring a professional plumber to have hidden piping (which would cost more) - You come home one day and there is spray paint smell everywhere because of yet another (although very useful) project, and that paint causing asthma related problems to the kids (his grandkids) - Etc. And now I am confused. I am not sure to tell him to stop (and kill one of his interests in living life) or to etl him continue (while the rest of the family continues being majorly inconvenienced). Note that, we are a subcontinental family, and living in a joint-family is very common, and moving out is not an option for me (it will kill him more than asking him to stop). (Also, while writing this it was very helpful. I think while writing this, I have decided that I will let him continue, as my inconveniences are much slight compared to the damage it will do him and his, I guess its called "agency")

Aulig 5y ago
Tough to say, I can see how some of that can be bothersome. But once it impacts others health there has to be a limit in my opinion. Maybe he can do the spraypainting outside or in a garage?
jacquesm 5y ago
I'd say let him be. After all, it got him this far and it clearly satisfies him, those factors may well weigh higher than having a better or prettier solution, and there really isn't anything wrong with being frugal. I'm a lot like your dad, but maybe a bit wealthier and yet, the number of one-off tinkering solutions around the house is rather higher than you would probably expect in a normal household and yet apart from some frustration when things are a bit messy for a while due to some project on the whole it is a net positive. If my ability to do this would be circumscribed a lot of the joy would go out of my life.

m0ck 5y ago

This painfully reminded me of my dad, who passed away earlier this year. We grew up as a family of 5, in small, 3 rooms flat in the block-of-flats from communist era. The way he made use of every single centimeter including the walls and ceiling still amazes me to this day. He was working with computers his whole life, but I haven't met anyone as handy as him. He built custom closets, cupboards, bunk beds, shelves, tables, perfctly designed for the dimensions of our flat, all without fancy tools and materials. My parents had their beds in our living room, but when we had event for our extended family, the whole room could be turned into something entirely different in 30 minutes, everything served multiple purposes. Whenever something needed to be done, or fixed, he disappeared into the "pile of useless junk" he kept in our basement and always came back with the right wire, pipe, or plank that did the job perfectly. Although I think I can be quite creative in some areas, unfortunately when it comes to manual work I am nowhere as gifted as him and am happy when I manage to change a lightbulb or hammer a nile.

foxhop 5y ago
I love you. Thank you for telling me about your father. I carry his light having been shown from my father. It comes easier with practice and many mistakes are made to make it appear effortless. Most of the work happens in the imagination with eyes closed.
FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) Thank you for sharing a deep part about yourself and your family. If you ever decide to share more about what your father built and how he did it, I'd love to also learn from his wisdom and approach. This is why Hacker News is my homepage. Thank you for sharing.

doctoboggan 5y ago

There is something very fulfilling (at least to me) about working this way. Not solving the problem in the best way, but solving it in the way you can _right now_. When I was younger this was how I solved most problems, but in my professional life I can't really do that (and for mostly good reasons). I follow someone on YouTube who moved to a small island in Panama, built his house, many boats, and lots of other items by hand using what he has. He is definitely crazy but he personifies this get it done attitude. A few years ago I travelled to Africa to volunteer at a hospital and was tasked with fixing an oxygen machine. I had to channel this YouTuber because there definitely was not the right tools and I definitely needed to get it done. I honestly surprised myself in how I was able to fix it and it was quite fulfilling.

the_only_law 5y ago
> When I was younger this was how I solved most problems, but in my professional life I can't really do that I find the same, mostly because my motivation to solve problems has changed significantly.
serg_chernata 5y ago
Jamie's channel is one of my all time favorites. I love watching him work exactly because of his general attitude toward problem solving and how different it is from mine.
- nier 5y ago
  https://m.youtube.com/user/JMEMantzel/videos https://m.youtube.com/user/JMEMantzel/videos
- OJFord 5y ago
  Can you suggest one as an 'entrypoint'? I watched a couple after Matthias Wandel mentioned him, but they were a bit.. well, even the comments were saying things like 'that's it he's really fallen off the deep end now'.
  - detritus 5y ago

baremachine 5y ago

lol dis a comment

VoodooJuJu 5y ago

Wouldn't call it genius, but certainly resourceful. In many cultures, this resourcefulness is not uncommon. Interesting how it is such a novel concept to the author, but second-nature to others.

lbriner 5y ago
I'm ashamed to admit to the number of times I am impressed by someone from a third-world country not only being resourceful but being able to create much more than I could from much less. I think of William Kamkwamba creating windmills from car parts. We need to remember that "education" is not the only way to achieve, some people are just wired up well and education comes from many more places than school! (I also believe in schools btw)
- OJFord 5y ago
  We really are constrained by having so much. The Einstein quote in the article 'The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.' is a good one - but it's resources too, having so much interferes with us putting things together. Related I suppose is 'analysis paralysis' - becoming so bogged down in working out the ideal way to do something, which parts shall I buy (I have access to all of them and the means for many of them after all!), how shall I do it, should I use my computer and education to model and parameterise it first, determine the properties I need from my materials to operate under the conditions I want, etc.
- yoz-y 5y ago
  Reminds me of a story when a friend was moving places in China. Now this is a second order account so the details are hazy. He had arranged for the movers to come in and take his stuff. When the time came the bell rang and the person on the other side said "I'm here". My friend was puzzled as he had quite a bit of stuff, weren't there supposed to be more of them? Turns out it was indeed just one mover on a scooter. But he was still able to move everything in a couple of trips by tricks like carrying the fridge on his back with aid of some straps and bundling and hanging everything. When I was in China I saw people transporting all kinds of stuff on scooters and some were really impressive. One time I thought a lorry was coming and it was just somebody carrying really _a lot_ of empty plastic bottles strapped onto them.

darkwater 5y ago

TIL https://www.wimhofmethod.com/ https://www.wimhofmethod.com/ Does this have any real, proven by data reliability? or is it just self help-like material focused on alpha-males?

unkulunkulu 5y ago
Did you actually hear him talk? There is no need to be insecure about your body’s abilities. Not only “alfa” males can do things. “He can do it you can (potentially) do it” sounds quite proven to me, do you disagree? So the only question (for me) is “can he do what he says he can”.
- penjelly 5y ago
  wim had world records in ice diving and has worked with researchers on studying his breathing technique. that said, HE IS AN ANOMALY. Hes been shown to have higher brown fat percentage then the average male (including his own twin). so no, just because he can do crazy things like dive into a frozen lake for X minutes doesnt mean the average person can. That said. the breathing exercises and cold showers DO have a positive physiological effect and they are worth doing, even if you dont become superhuman overnight. do his breathing technique every morning when you wake up, its like a very potent meditation that makes you feel good. im about to do mine now.
  - robocat 5y ago
    > Hes been shown to have higher brown fat percentage then the average male Cause, or effect? I think you are implying he was born an anomaly, rather than that he has become special using his techniques.
foxhop 5y ago
I'd say Wim is more of a sigma male than an alpha. The breathing techniques allow the practitioner to traverse space time without death, in cold and low oxygen environments. Check out the highlights from David Blaines "Ascension"
5y ago

zz865 5y ago

The landlord is going to kill them.

FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) On the contrary, the landlord was was flexible with our group since our apartment was promised to be ready in 2 weeks but we didn't have hot water for 8 months—including Beijing's winter

lbrito 5y ago

Side note, wasn't the genius roommate afraid of getting a huge fine for repurposing furniture?

FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) Landlord found it amusing. She had much bigger problems in ensuring the unit was completed.

tiepoul 5y ago

I can definitely agree that close friends also affects on how you think.

FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) Over time, I've found that my environment affects me much more than I had ever thought.

alex_smart 5y ago

In India, we have a word for this type of "engineering" - jugaad. A great tool to use at an individual level. A terrible mindset to have as a society.

FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) First time I've heard about this. Care to share more?
- tta 5y ago
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugaad https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugaad
  - htek 5y ago
    Another perspective... https://www.indiatoday.in/opinion/shahana-basu-kanodia/story/jugaad-cultures-hollow-innards-india-today-155524-2013-03-07 https://www.indiatoday.in/opinion/shahana-basu-kanodia/story...
- primitivesuave 5y ago
  In India, you will find all kinds of homemade vehicles on the streets and similar ingenious use of existing materials, although it seems to be mostly applied toward providing a service or making street food (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rnG91loNzk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rnG91loNzk).

chasd00 5y ago

reminds me of my old roommate in college, we had to fit 5 guys in a two bedroom apartment. He found/stole/bought (not sure which) some old scaffolding. He painted it and then got some 2x6's and made two queen sized bunk bed frames. So we had two decent sized beds in each room. Then, the last guy was on the couch (he was only there for the summer then back to the dorm).

stefap2 5y ago

Hope he puts the wardrobe back together, otherwise landlord won't be happy.

turdnagel 5y ago

Good article. I feel very comfortable doing this with code and not so much with physical material, where the constraints are much more imposing and the risk of screwing something up is much higher. Based on my experiences with programming, I imagine part of being able to think this way is also having experience building things physically. The fact that I can think about connecting pieces of backend infrastructure, or bits of reusable code, or a wiring up a handy library to solve a problem is from experience solving problems with the tools at hand. Probably the best way to get started with this mindset in any problem domain is to just start making things, getting a feel for the capabilities of tools, the strengths of various materials. In other words, the attitude adjustment is just one part of being able to solve problems this way - you've got to be very comfortable with your tools and materials, or have little to lose so you can experiment safely.

FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) As a software engineer, I'd love to know more on how you apply this.
- turdnagel 5y ago
  Two principles I see at play here are fluency (a mapping between a desired action and the physical action of using a tool) and parsimony (building something in the simplest or cleverest way to achieve the goal). You get fluency through practice and the parsimony comes through experience, a kind of wisdom - similar but I different concepts. With software engineering, I think when you're comfortable with the syntax and capabilities of the language you're working with, you get fluency. And then once you have experience using the standard library and some common external libs, you learn parsimony.

runjake 5y ago

I am like Zhang. I directly blame watching a lot of MacGyver and A-Team as a kid. Those shows really got me thinking obtusely, combined with being poor and not being able to go out and just buy what I needed. Now it just comes naturally.

FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) I'd love to hear more on how you think about problems and what motivates you in doing so...

FarhadG 5y ago

(Author here) I am deeply humbled by your engagement, comments, critiques, and insights. Needless to say, this inspires me to write and share more. Thank you Hacker News. You are truly one of a kind.

jareklupinski 5y ago
keep on hacking brother :)
Uhhrrr 5y ago
Thank you! I'm curious about what that guy is doing now?
- FarhadG 5y ago
  (Author here) Zhang's experimenting a ton with 3D printers, making short films, and conducting music. The way I see it, there's much more to come from him...

js2 5y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necessity_is_the_mother_of_invention https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necessity_is_the_mother_of_inv...

DantesKite 5y ago

A lot of the commenters here are the embodiment of the “Actually” meme, critiquing the least important parts of the story, like an editor looking for a typo, rather than engaging with the spirit of the story. This isn’t a code base waiting for review.

frazbin 5y ago
And if it were, stop anyway! Humanities classes are sposed to help us engage with content like this, but stem students often don't take them seriously (

Dumblydorr 5y ago

I think the word genius is a bit click-baity in this title. Genius is Einstein's year 1905, it's Beethoven writing profoundly inspirational, timeless works while fully deaf. If we cheapen the term genius down to creative maker, or PhD level mathematics, or moving some planks of wood around, I feel we cheapen the greatest insights of historys bonafide geniuses.

FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) I share your sentiment and it's something I often reflect upon. However, I'm also cautious of not attributing `genius` to events based on results. I feel that would limit my ability to look at situations and judge intelligent (and perhaps genius) [decision making] because I would have to wait for results and—only then—dictate whether the person was intelligent (or a genius). I'd love to know how you think about this term and how you use it.
jbluepolarbear 5y ago
Where does this value of only a few can be genius’ come from? Anyone with an exceptional gift, be it intelligence or creativity, is a genius. Using your genius to make a great lasting impact is something only a few will accomplish, but it doesn’t cheapen their accomplishments to call others genius.
- Dumblydorr 5y ago
  It's the word's definition, it's language that matters here. If I say every musician is a virtuoso, it cheapens the playing of Hiromi, Chick Corea, and Coltrane. If I say every athlete is a superstar, it cheapens the label for Lebron and Giannis. If we say someone who repurposes wooden furniture is a genius, it cheapens the monumental feat of Einstein publishing multiple Nobel-worthy articles while writing in evenings after getting home from clerking at a patent office. The definition of genius is not "resourceful" or "creative", it must indicate a profound mind who greatly improved human society through their intellect. We shouldn't use terms like genius to drive content to our blogs, unless the word is warranted. That is why I believe it's click bait.

honkycat 5y ago

I love stories like these. In college, I slept on a futon in a filthy studio apartment. My desk was a piece of wood I put on the arms of a chair, while sitting on the edge of my futon. It worked OK. I don't lionize this state of being. My more comfortable peers had better grades and had more fun.

saeranv 5y ago

Random question: how does that "book bench" work in the first image of the blog? I can't figure out why the suspended books on the "bench seat" aren't just sliding down, given the lack of lateral force pushing them together. My best guess right now is that compressing the spine of the books inwards, naturally creates a moment force on the covers that pushes the page-side of the book outward. So the whole thing works like a truss bridge, with compression on the top, and tension on the bottom. I may be overthinking this though...

readams 5y ago
You definitely can't get tension from books that are simply pressed together. I think more likely the books are glued together, and possibly reinforced with a cable or rod threaded through the center.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
Fezzik 5y ago
Probably lots of glue and maybe resin, though it doesn’t look like it’s coated in resin… maybe some screws/nails that are artfully places. It doesn’t look free/standing to me though.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- saeranv 5y ago
  You're right, screws and nails make sense. Glue, I think, would shear as soon someone sat on it.
riidom 5y ago
This book bench is awful. What a devaluation. Saw the picture, immediately came to the comments and searched for "books" to vent about it. Now I am able give that article a second chance.

GhettoComputers 5y ago

Thanks for the article. I didn’t know the French had a term for it. Did he come from an impoverished background? The raw ingenuity and creativity from locally sourced or owned parts for free material is most commonly found in weed smokers making smoking tools, but I love and use what your roommate did all the time. I’m pretty biased against the raspberry pi and nearly every project I saw was achievable with old computers that would be free, but there’s not much glory in talking about using a netbook for ad blocking or a server over a shiny SBC that’s a real computer (like the real ones you probably already own, have better specs, negligibly more power usage, and are collecting dust). My grandfather would collect garbage for building material and build things with it like a bench, a raised platform in the basement because it flooded, and old fan motors to make kitchen ventilation. He loved watching this old house.

prewett 5y ago

Very creative approach! I'm curious whether they got the deposit on their apartment back, given that apartments in Beijing are usually furnished, so probably the furniture was the landlord's. Could go either way: the landlord might be impressed at the added utility, or upset at the changes.

redwood 5y ago

My day to day experience with this is cooking with what happens to be available in the kitchen

jll29 5y ago

Thanks for sharing this impressive story. What happened to your room mate professionally?

FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) I'm glad you enjoyed it. Zhang continues to exercise his creativity in composing music, making short films, and building with 3D printers.

fferen 5y ago

I did similar things many times, though not as sophisticated. Using a chair on a table as a standing desk, etc. It's fine but at some point becomes an eyesore and makes you want some proper things.

pseudoramble 5y ago

Nice post. I have nothing in particular to add to this post except that several moons ago I worked with the author for a brief time. So it was surprising to see this name pop up here again. He's an interesting fellow who does some interesting dev work, last I checked was with WebGL, and I believe was writing a book at the time too. At that time, and due to the circumstances, I was kind of cranky and probably not terribly fun to be around. But I enjoyed getting to know @FarhadG through that time though. So if you happen to see this, hope all is well!

FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) Just did a quick search and I'm so delighted to hear from you. Strange that you considered yourself as "cranky." Really? I mean, really? I genuinely thought you were THE most helpful and approachable dev. You were always receptive and open to problem solving. Thank you for reaching out. You made my day. Hope our paths cross again.
- pseudoramble 5y ago
  Maybe it was more in my head than I realized, but I was in a bad place at the time. So it feels that way looking back on it. I appreciate the kind words!

forix 5y ago

Reminds me of the main character from the movie 3 Idiots (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/3_idiots https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/3_idiots).

FarhadG 5y ago
(Author here) Great movie and I see the reference.

chernevik 5y ago

Or, My Life With A Motie