Continuing with the second edition of Resources of the Month:
Sketchplanations
Sketchplanations is an ever-growing collection of illustrations that explain complex topics through easy, one-panel sketches. When I first discovered it, I spent hours devouring bite-sized explanations on various subjects, from science and behavioral economics to psychology frameworks and business models with detours to domestic life hacks. Some that stood out for me are VUCA, the Hotel Drying Technique, Hara Hachi Bu, Collective Effervescence, The Automation Paradox, Tsundoku, Kaffikok, Detecting Prostate Cancer or Problem-solving. Especially good to browse on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
r/AskHistorians
Another resource for a fine Sunday afternoon is the AskHistorians subreddit. Users pose historical questions, and moderators are top-tier hawks, making sure answers respect high standards of academic rigor and are based on reliable sources. Anything speculative, off-topic, or downright inaccurate gets swiftly deleted. At the same time, the discussion is focused and respectful. However, sorting too recent threads sometimes feels like sifting through the rubble of deleted comments. So, I set my browsing to monthly. Or take a look over the Very Frequently Asked Questions.
One topic stood out for me in particular. As usual, the replies are of the high standard expected of r/AskHistorians, but one key quote completely rewired my brain in a matter of minutes. A traditional practice, often dismissed as mystical or spiritual, was a highly sophisticated business strategy. It allowed women of a highly stigmatized tribe to connect with the outside world while maintaining familial responsibilities. Most importantly, it provided a portable, flexible income source perfectly suited to their nomadic lifestyle. On a deeper level, this practice provided a form of therapy, offering clients a non-judgmental space for emotional expression and spiritual guidance. And this practice? Fortune-telling.
Fortune-telling is a traditional trade for Romani women that is a generally acceptable way to earn a living and interact with the non-Romani world. I tend to always refer to Alexandra Oprea’s sentiment that, in a sense, fortune-telling can serve as a form of therapy where one person is seeking spiritual guidance or is simply looking for an impartial party to talk through their thoughts and emotions. It serves practical purpose as well as spiritual: Romani women could not only earn extra money for their household, it was a trade that was portable (which was essential as most Roma men worked in migrant trades such as metal smith in different towns, seasonal farm work, and horse trade to name a few), and they could schedule it around other household or family duties.
From user foxeared-asshole replying in When did “evil magic” (curses) become associated with Romani people in fiction? Is it purely a literary device or did it originate from actual beliefs/stereotypes about & against this community? Was malign magic attributed to any other marginalized groups in Europe (Cagots, Jews, Travelers, etc.)?
So now, when I think of business people, I no longer picture white men in suits or corporate offices. Instead, I think of Romani fortune tellers — discriminated women who mastered a craft that balanced economic necessity with spiritual service.
As expected, Sketchplanations has a drawing about the mental rewiring that happened to me while reading that particular topic: Framing, a principle drawn from behavioral economics that describes how our decisions, judgments, and perceptions can be significantly influenced by how information is presented to us.
When Constraints Provide Breakthroughs
Musician Brian Eno was once faced with a particularly intriguing challenge. In his words,
I’d been working on my own music for a while and was quite lost, actually. And I really appreciated someone coming along and saying, “Here’s a specific problem – solve it.”
The thing from the agency said, “We want a piece of music that is inspiring, universal, blah-blah, da-da-da, optimistic, futuristic, sentimental, emotional,” this whole list of adjectives, and then at the bottom it said “and it must be 3+1⁄4 seconds long.”
I thought this was so funny and an amazing thought to actually try to make a little piece of music. It’s like making a tiny little jewel.
In an interview with Joel Selvin at the San Francisco Chronicle
The final product, which ended up being slightly longer than the specified duration, became one of the world’s most recognizable pieces of music, likely heard by billions. It is the startup sound for Microsoft Windows 95, and the company that approached Eno was indeed Microsoft.
The saying “a well-defined problem is a problem half-solved” rings true here. Eno’s creative breakthrough, achieved through a well-defined constraint, not only resulted in an iconic composition but also liberated him for his other musical projects.
In fact, I made eighty-four pieces. I got completely into this world of tiny, tiny little pieces of music. I was so sensitive to microseconds at the end of this that it really broke a logjam in my own work. Then when I’d finished that and I went back to working with pieces that were like three minutes long, it seemed like oceans of time.
In an interview with Joel Selvin at the San Francisco Chronicle
And for a splash of fun:
The Olympic Cheat from Foil Arms and Hog
The Olympic Infectious Disease Specialist from Dr. Glaucomflecken
We’ve never really studied the FEMALE BODY from Jemma Bella (recommendation from a friend – and the video comments are unfortunately, not fun)
Until next month, happy exploring!