Accepting change: thoughts inspired by turning left

2020.09.212020.10.23 ~ g BRETT miller (he/him/his)

“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 addition to the basic green light, traffic signals gained a left turn arrow, that would let you know when it was OK to turn left without worrying about oncoming (or side) traffic. Sometimes you could turn left with the flow of traffic on your side, sometimes you and traffic opposite would turn left together. A sign declaring Left Turn Yield On Green appeared on these signals for when the arrow was not lit, just in case the mere presence of the arrow made you forget that simple rule.

[A short detour: When we lived in NJ, there were many intersections that did not have left turn arrows, but had signs declaring Delayed Green. It took me a little while to realize what this meant was, “Your light is green, the other direction’s traffic is not, so go ahead and turn left if you like.” Of course, this was at the seemingly rare intersection where you could actually turn left by turning left.]

Some intersections then earned an actual Left Turn Signal, where a left turn could only be made when the arrow was green, independent of the regular flow of traffic. I assume these are in place to help support efficient traffic flow or safety, but they can be a bit irritating when the main light is green, there is no traffic, and you are stuck with a red arrow and can’t turn until the light cycles through.

There is now a newer variation on the theme, something I first noticed several years ago: a left turn signal, separate from the main flow signal, that included a flashing yellow arrow in addition to the red and green arrows, with an accompanying sign letting you know, Left Turn Yield on Flashing Yellow. At first I thought this a bit silly, not sure what benefit this really gave. But then I had occasion to use one of those flashing yellow arrows to turn left, when the main flow light was red.

I have to admit, it kind of freaked me out a bit the first time I made that turn with the main light red, knowing that the light for the other direction was green. “Freaked out” may be a bit strong, but it was definitely an unfamiliar and uncomfortable feeling. I’ve been driving for 30+ years, and this was a significant change.

A good lesson for any type of change (maybe in your life or your company): acknowledge the change, understand its history, and give it a chance.

Microsoft Surface Studio: The engineering beneath floating pixels

2016.11.022017.05.23 ~ g BRETT miller (he/him/his)

“We’re not here to get to show off our work, we’re here to make awesome products,” says Hill. “I think that’s super important.” It’s a belief that’s reflected by Groene, too. “If the work is not good inside, the product cannot be good on the outside,” he says, noting that you’re squeezing a lot of technology into small volumes.

— MICROSOFT SURFACE STUDIO: THE ENGINEERING BENEATH FLOATING PIXELS

Career Day – what should I say?

2007.03.07 ~ g BRETT miller (he/him/his)

The guidance counselor at my son’s middle school called me last week and asked if I would be interested in coming in to talk to the eighth grade class at their upcoming career day. Of course I would love to do that, but it raises an interesting challenge for me. You see, I’m not exactly sure how to explain what exactly it is that I do.

A couple of years ago, in a post titled “My Dad is a Knowledge Worker,” I addressed basically the same question:

When my kids were finally old enough to ask me what I do, I told them simply, “I figure out how to solve problems.” That seemed to satisfy them, at least for now. Trying to explain to friends what I do everyday is a bit more difficult. When asked, I usually give my official job title, Systems Engineer. Of course, that instantly begs the question, “OK, but what do you do?”

I recently tried to explain, without much success I think, what I do at the most recent St. Louis Idea Market using only a diagram (visualization exercise) and 5 words or less. Yeah, right.

I asked my son for advice on what to say, what he thought would be something that he and his classmates would like to hear. He’s going to get back to me. I’m starting to think that instead of addressing my current job, it may be more useful to talk about how I got to where I am. After all, these kids are going to be much more interested in how to get started than in where they’re going to be when they are in their 40’s (man, that’s old!)

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Telling your story with pictures

2006.12.17 ~ g BRETT miller (he/him/his)

At the last St. Louis Idea Market, Scott Matthews from XPLANE had us all create a visual explanation of how a toaster works. Among many observations I made from the exercise, key was how different people interpreted what was meant by “how a toaster works.” Some of us took it to mean “How do you make toast with a toaster” while others approached it from the “how does a toaster function” point of view. (It was pretty easy to pick out engineers in the crowd!) Scott has posted the scanned cards on Flickr.

Photographer Volker Steger gave a similar visual story telling challenge to past Nobel laureates in the article and photo layout Nobel Notations in the December 2006 issue of Discover magazine, in which he asked these great minds to explain their prize winning achievements using crayons and a piece of poster board.

The scientists’ artwork draws out unexpected and often deeply personal details. Curl’s depiction of the buckyball’s creation hints at a dispute over the naming of the molecule. He favored “soccerene” for its soccer-ball shape, but his British cowinner, Sir Harold Kroto, nixed that idea, arguing that in England the game is called football and that the molecule ought to be called “footballene.” (In the end, it was named for architect Buckminster Fuller’s celebrated geodesic domes.)

If you would like to your own hand at a visual explanation for a scientific idea – and possibly win a prize – check out the National Science Foundation’s Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge.