Is music a spandrel? This is a question I have discussed with many people over the years, usually beginning with a definition of the word spandrel. The term comes from architecture and has been borrowed to describe the by-product of an evolutionary adaptation, like flight in birds. Feathers evolved to keep birds warm, but they… Continue reading Word of the week: spandrel
Yesterday was the anniversary of my mother’s death. She died nineteen years ago. I was holding her hand as the breath left her body. Every year we commemorate the anniversary in the same way, a mass said for her intention, and a day spent doing very little. Once or twice I have gone back to… Continue reading An Anniversary Day
Now, I know what you’re thinking. And I know what you’re going to say next. No I don’t, not really. I wouldn’t presume to know what you’re thinking, or what you’re going to say next. But some people do. They say “I know what you’re thinking” even when they have only a tiny chance of… Continue reading Mindreading: a trick
While writing a piece about Underground exits and interchanges the other day (“Where to get off”) two stories came to mind, one related to Earls Court station and the other from my brother’s university days. At Earls Court station there are exits at the front and back of the train. If you are travelling from… Continue reading Earls Court, Monument and Bank
A former colleague emailed me earlier this week, asking about keyboard shortcuts on the Mac: “Just wondering if you use keyboard shortcuts much on the Mac? For some reason I have never really used them. I find the symbols confusing and maybe because my Mac is mostly used for leisure and Windows shortcuts are so… Continue reading Mac and PC Keyboard Shortcuts (by special request)
The Trivia Menu (here) gives an introduction to how I have acquired certain bits of information over the years and lists some favourite quiz questions. This piece gives my mnemonics for remembering all 50 US States and the State Capitals. Over the years other people have asked me for it, right up to last week… Continue reading Trivia Mnemonics (US States and Capitals)
Do you have “version control issues”? Do you have multiple copies of the same documents (digital or printed copies) and end up with confusion about which copies are most up-to-date? I remember this being a problem 10-15 years ago but it feels like we are over the worst of it now. It’s a problem that… Continue reading Version Control
Have you heard that thing about Salvador Dali and the spoon? I have come across this story in so many places that I can’t remember where I heard it first. It’s used to illustrate the benefit of taking short naps, especially to aid creativity, and offers a way to do it. The story goes that… Continue reading Salvador Dali’s Spoon
Earlier today Zac Goldsmith was in the news for not knowing much about the London Underground or where the Museum of London is. This might not matter for most people, but he is the standing for election as the Mayor of London. The Museum of London is near the Barbican, in the City of London.… Continue reading Where to get off
Iamb: it’s a “metrical foot”. This is nothing to do with imperial measurements involving distance, it’s about meter in poems, or how syllables are used in a line of poetry. An iamb is a 2-syllable “metrical foot”, a short or unstressed syllable followed by a long or stressed syllable: da-DUM. Examples include the words “remark”… Continue reading Word of the week: iamb
The Compartments 