5 ms·

> Take Calculus for example. It’s easy to understand and learn the basics of it (a ton of people do in HS, even earlier in some countries). But it is extremely

> Take Calculus for example. It’s easy to understand and learn the basics of it (a ton of people do in HS, even earlier in some countries). But it is extremely hard to be Newton and think about it first and prove it. My personal favorite example is clip pens. It's such a simple tool. There is no electricity, steam power or even gears in it. But I think very few people can come up with how it works internally. Answer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhVw-MHGv4s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhVw-MHGv4s

geoduck14 4y ago
You juts made me watch a 4 minute video on ballpoint pens. Thanks.
pier25 4y ago
Woah suer interesting video. Thanks for sharing.
syntaxing 4y ago
Definitely agree, even our modern toilet we use everyday is pretty crazy to wrap your head around
- irrational 4y ago
  You might be using the toilet wrong.
  - AlbertCory 4y ago
    That was my thought when he said "wrap your head around." GMTA.
  - maximus-decimus 4y ago
    Maybe they that a Japanese toilet that washes your butthole while playing the Maccarena.
- namdnay 4y ago
  I was hit by that thought last week whilst changing a seal in a Geberit (concealed cistern toilet). The engineering that has gone in to making a mechanism that will work under water for decades , and can be entirely disassembled and reassembled through an opening the size of the flush panel, is pretty incredible
- Ekaros 4y ago
  And when you really get to details it is even more complex. The bowl is actually hollow in parts. And then consider correctly and effectively routing the water. And then mass producing complex 3d object and essentially perfectly glazing it.
  - mcguire 4y ago
    Oh, heck, it's made of porcelain. Check out the history of that.
dogma1138 4y ago
The amount of industrial engineering required to make a ballpoint pen is quite substantial the click mechanism isn’t the impressive part making balls which are dimensionally accurate to 0.1 micrometer is the challenging part. Without that level of accuracy you can’t make a ballpoint pen and without it there is no real advantage of making the click mechanism. And making these balls is very challenging even today. These are often still used as an example for manufacturing deficiencies in places like China as whilst they tend to make the bulk of the ballpoint pens they still have to buy the balls form German and Swiss manufacturers.
- Qem 4y ago
  > whilst they tend to make the bulk of the ballpoint pens they still have to buy the balls form German and Swiss manufacturers. They fixed this problem by 2017: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/18/finally-china-manufactures-a-ballpoint-pen-all-by-itself/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/18...
  - rvba 4y ago
    I wonder if they reinvented it, bought the research or used spies. The article only says that it took some research facility 5 years.
- blacksmith_tb 4y ago
  Hmm, there are retractable fountain pens like the Namiki Vanishing Point, and even Sharpies that are retractable. I think it'd be fair to say the clicky ballpoints represent an excellent combination of cheapness and usefulness, but they don't have a monopoly on retractable points.
kevinmchugh 4y ago
And all that engineering happened after someone realized that such a thing would be useful. That classic HN comment about how Dropbox wasn't useful because rsync exists - that's more or less the standard response to innovation. "The thing you've created reduces pain points I'm so used to that I no longer see them". Certain inventions only get made because of really determined, persnickety individuals who will not accept the pain point.
- zmmmmm 4y ago
  That's the point at which it takes real vision and perseverence to see it through. It's fascinating the lack of imagination people have for a certain level of innovation. They can see the benefit of small incremental changes pretty well but large disruptive changes fall off a cliff very quickly into a chasm of sceptism - "I'm sure there is something wrong with this idea but I can't think of the problems so I will make up some reasons why it won't work". I feel like this sceptical reaction itself must have an evolutionary basis as it seems highly instinctive. You can look at the current technological changes in play to day and think about them through this lens and it's quite interesting (AI, obviously, then AR/VR/metaverse etc).
nyanpasu64 4y ago
Wow I must've spent too long playing with pens as a kid, particularly the pens that didn't actually rotate and click right.

geoduck14 4y ago

You juts made me watch a 4 minute video on ballpoint pens. Thanks.

pier25 4y ago

Woah suer interesting video. Thanks for sharing.

syntaxing 4y ago

Definitely agree, even our modern toilet we use everyday is pretty crazy to wrap your head around

irrational 4y ago
You might be using the toilet wrong.
- AlbertCory 4y ago
  That was my thought when he said "wrap your head around." GMTA.
- maximus-decimus 4y ago
  Maybe they that a Japanese toilet that washes your butthole while playing the Maccarena.
namdnay 4y ago
I was hit by that thought last week whilst changing a seal in a Geberit (concealed cistern toilet). The engineering that has gone in to making a mechanism that will work under water for decades , and can be entirely disassembled and reassembled through an opening the size of the flush panel, is pretty incredible
Ekaros 4y ago
And when you really get to details it is even more complex. The bowl is actually hollow in parts. And then consider correctly and effectively routing the water. And then mass producing complex 3d object and essentially perfectly glazing it.
- mcguire 4y ago
  Oh, heck, it's made of porcelain. Check out the history of that.

dogma1138 4y ago

The amount of industrial engineering required to make a ballpoint pen is quite substantial the click mechanism isn’t the impressive part making balls which are dimensionally accurate to 0.1 micrometer is the challenging part. Without that level of accuracy you can’t make a ballpoint pen and without it there is no real advantage of making the click mechanism. And making these balls is very challenging even today. These are often still used as an example for manufacturing deficiencies in places like China as whilst they tend to make the bulk of the ballpoint pens they still have to buy the balls form German and Swiss manufacturers.

Qem 4y ago
> whilst they tend to make the bulk of the ballpoint pens they still have to buy the balls form German and Swiss manufacturers. They fixed this problem by 2017: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/18/finally-china-manufactures-a-ballpoint-pen-all-by-itself/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/18...
- rvba 4y ago
  I wonder if they reinvented it, bought the research or used spies. The article only says that it took some research facility 5 years.
blacksmith_tb 4y ago
Hmm, there are retractable fountain pens like the Namiki Vanishing Point, and even Sharpies that are retractable. I think it'd be fair to say the clicky ballpoints represent an excellent combination of cheapness and usefulness, but they don't have a monopoly on retractable points.

kevinmchugh 4y ago

And all that engineering happened after someone realized that such a thing would be useful. That classic HN comment about how Dropbox wasn't useful because rsync exists - that's more or less the standard response to innovation. "The thing you've created reduces pain points I'm so used to that I no longer see them". Certain inventions only get made because of really determined, persnickety individuals who will not accept the pain point.

zmmmmm 4y ago
That's the point at which it takes real vision and perseverence to see it through. It's fascinating the lack of imagination people have for a certain level of innovation. They can see the benefit of small incremental changes pretty well but large disruptive changes fall off a cliff very quickly into a chasm of sceptism - "I'm sure there is something wrong with this idea but I can't think of the problems so I will make up some reasons why it won't work". I feel like this sceptical reaction itself must have an evolutionary basis as it seems highly instinctive. You can look at the current technological changes in play to day and think about them through this lens and it's quite interesting (AI, obviously, then AR/VR/metaverse etc).

nyanpasu64 4y ago

Wow I must've spent too long playing with pens as a kid, particularly the pens that didn't actually rotate and click right.