4 ms·

I have yet to meet a person not employed in one of the fields mentioned below who says "Yeah, so like I was... • taking my medication the other day and I noti

by dfc 13y ago

I have yet to meet a person not employed in one of the fields mentioned below who says "Yeah, so like I was... • taking my medication the other day and I noticed it was working so I looked up the formula and the background research • eating out of this microwaveable and biodegradeable bowl that is made out of soy the other day and I was amazed that it held together so well so I looked into the manufacturing process • watching this guy get out of a car with a prosthetic arm and leg and it was really neat the way the joints moved so I looked into the background kinematics/kinesiology • watching the painters next door and I realized that the red was very vibrant and that it only took one coat for full coverage so I looked into the interaction between the binders and the pigments ...whoever did it came up with this super cool approach." I think a little less introspection and a little more extrospection might be in order.

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Gigablah 13y ago
This reminds me, I once took a course on magnetic storage technology because I was curious. I am now regularly amazed that my computer starts up at all.
- sp332 13y ago
  There's literally a Nobel Prize for that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_magnetoresistance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_magnetoresistance
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waterlesscloud 13y ago
Really? I assumed there would be a lot of people on a site like this who do exactly those things...
- dfc 13y ago
  What things? Too much introspection and not enough extrospection?
- Consultant32452 13y ago
  I had to re-read the OP because I originally read it as having never met an unemployed person that is curious about the world around them and makes a real attempt to learn how things work. I find very few adults still have that child-like curiosity about the world but the ones that do are generally very well employed.
  - dfc 13y ago
    I am confused about the unemployed comment. The employed/not-employed distinction was merely pointing out that lay people do not (and often are unable to) look under the hood of things they do not understand. The implicit thesis was that I disagreed with the author's concept that programmers are special and that there is something unique about outsider's appreciation of programming. (There is an air of elitism to "grocery clerk" example that I was not comfortable with replicating.) I am an adult with a child-like curiosity about the world and I am hardly very well employed. To be honest I think an interest-in/knowledge-of a wide range of fields complicates career choices.
- noir_lord 13y ago
  I would have guessed the percentage was higher on HN than most sites. I've never lost my fascination with the world and how it all works (from the level of politics and human interaction right down to the atomic level). How could you not be fascinated with the universe, it's so big and so complex and there is so much to learn about.
sdegutis 13y ago
I do that kind of stuff. Maybe not to that extreme, but very similar in nature.
fragmede 13y ago
Just yesterday there was a fascinating thread on reddit* among countless others that many enjoyed reading, myself included, that went into the neurobiology of LSD. You might want to find some friends more interested in how the world around them works. *http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1xm490/eli5_what_exactly_does_lsd_do_to_your_brain/ http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1xm490/el...
cafard 13y ago
Actually, there is a woman I see now and then who parks on our street, then gets into a wheelchair. I am very impressed with the thought that went into that wheelchair, which has detachable wheels; she can snap off and on the wheels easily, stow and take out all the parts by herself. The chair would not do for everybody, for it takes arm strength to operate, and someone with no leg strength at all might not be able to get in and and out of the car. But for its purpose, it is beautifully made. Have I looked into the technology? No. It seems to me an elegant application of technologies I have some notion of.

by dfc 13y ago

deleted 13y ago

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Gigablah 13y ago

This reminds me, I once took a course on magnetic storage technology because I was curious. I am now regularly amazed that my computer starts up at all.

sp332 13y ago
There's literally a Nobel Prize for that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_magnetoresistance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_magnetoresistance

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waterlesscloud 13y ago

Really? I assumed there would be a lot of people on a site like this who do exactly those things...

dfc 13y ago
What things? Too much introspection and not enough extrospection?
Consultant32452 13y ago
I had to re-read the OP because I originally read it as having never met an unemployed person that is curious about the world around them and makes a real attempt to learn how things work. I find very few adults still have that child-like curiosity about the world but the ones that do are generally very well employed.
- dfc 13y ago
  I am confused about the unemployed comment. The employed/not-employed distinction was merely pointing out that lay people do not (and often are unable to) look under the hood of things they do not understand. The implicit thesis was that I disagreed with the author's concept that programmers are special and that there is something unique about outsider's appreciation of programming. (There is an air of elitism to "grocery clerk" example that I was not comfortable with replicating.) I am an adult with a child-like curiosity about the world and I am hardly very well employed. To be honest I think an interest-in/knowledge-of a wide range of fields complicates career choices.
noir_lord 13y ago
I would have guessed the percentage was higher on HN than most sites. I've never lost my fascination with the world and how it all works (from the level of politics and human interaction right down to the atomic level). How could you not be fascinated with the universe, it's so big and so complex and there is so much to learn about.

sdegutis 13y ago

I do that kind of stuff. Maybe not to that extreme, but very similar in nature.

fragmede 13y ago

Just yesterday there was a fascinating thread on reddit* among countless others that many enjoyed reading, myself included, that went into the neurobiology of LSD. You might want to find some friends more interested in how the world around them works. *http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1xm490/eli5_what_exactly_does_lsd_do_to_your_brain/ http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1xm490/el...

cafard 13y ago

Actually, there is a woman I see now and then who parks on our street, then gets into a wheelchair. I am very impressed with the thought that went into that wheelchair, which has detachable wheels; she can snap off and on the wheels easily, stow and take out all the parts by herself. The chair would not do for everybody, for it takes arm strength to operate, and someone with no leg strength at all might not be able to get in and and out of the car. But for its purpose, it is beautifully made. Have I looked into the technology? No. It seems to me an elegant application of technologies I have some notion of.