Sometimes reinventing the wheel is exactly what you need

Don’t reinvent the wheel. The argument for not re-inventing the wheel is often one of efficiency. The wheel has already been invented, it’s a commodity; just get the cheapest wheel you can find, a wheel is a wheel. An argument for re-inventing the wheel is one of effectiveness for the job at hand. What would…More

Accepting change: thoughts inspired by turning left

“If the light is green, and there is no one coming in the other direction, you can turn left.” This is what I learned about turning left at stoplight (aka traffic signal) many years ago when I learned to drive. Over time, though, turning left at a signal has gotten a bit more involved. In…More

Knowing without understanding

A while back, I asked (and sought to answer) the question, “Can you know something if you didn’t learn it?” The question I was pondering today is, “Can you know something, and apply that knowledge, without understanding it?” The short answer, I believe, is yes. Need to give some more thought to the long answer.More

Categories, tags, and the mayonnaise problem

In one of our local grocery stores, mayonnaise is located in the aisle with salad dressing. In another, mayonnaise is located with condiments (such as ketchup and mustard). According to Wikipedia, mayonnaise is a condiment. A variety of sources talk about mayonnaise as a base for, but not necessarily being, salad dressings of various sorts.…More