Matt Varian
Links
- https://youtu.be/w4Wdjz2uiPY?si=Ro9OkVAjtrogAKOM Calculus is not the most intuitive thing to understand but it sometimes helps to see it applied in real world ways, and I always find it really cool to see mechanical devices that can preform this complex math as this Derivimeter does or if you’ve been reading these a while back in Sep 2024 historical fact post about the navy computer.
- https://www.bhoite.com/sculptures/ These circuits are pretty incredible, not so much due to their actual function as much as the form they take.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np4NRMKOG6U I’ve been a fan of flip dot displays for over a decade now since first finding out about them. However they are hard to find and expensive when you do find them so this is awesome to find a DIY version of this cool display technology.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMX7eviGZ-4 This video is highlighting a woodshop that has set everything up for efficiency and clarity and has a lot of very cool custom designed tools and processes to make their work easier. There is also a longer video about this shop Here
- https://mitxela.com/projects/fluid-pendant Often you will see a project and not get a great idea of how much work went into it as unless you’re the one creating the thing there are often small details that go into you never think about, this is a shining example of that. So much effort went into making this awesome looking/working pendant.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVFB2g25OkM This is a fun project that touches on all kinds of cool mechanical components, omni-directional wheels, tons of 3d printed parts and control theory. All coming together to create a very cool bike.
- https://youtu.be/_W7DjRU94t4?si=byRkRD4dY_sAASlE Lean manufacturing is a concept that is focused on cutting out a lot of the wastes that build up in processes. There are many different aspects to lean but I think this video does a great job at identifying an awesome way at making improvements, at one point in the video the person being interviewed pointed out that if you ask someone how you can improve their process they often find it hard to say, but if you ask them what bugs them those answers come quickly, and by addressing those problems you’re making improvements to the process.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7r7nbIJnYI This is a cool tour of the company Formlabs which makes a variety of 3D printers, this is a neat tour as it shows the wide array of what all they make where it’s not just a machine, but a lot of their work revolves around material characterization as well as software.
Book of the month
- The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman. This book magically appeared on my desk early this month as the person with it thought it was mine, as the owner has still not been identified I’ve been reading it and it’s actually pretty interesting. It goes into the thought behind designing things and how good design should have discoverability and understanding which is without help you can figure out what all actions the thing can do, and you can understand what those actions do and control.
Cool historical fact