---

title: "Things I Learned this week #5"
author: Thomas Wilson
date: 2020-09-11
draft: false
slug: "2020-09-11-things-i-learned-5"
tags:
  - things-i-learned
---

- **This missed opportunity to name something**: Ping Pong is a weird name for a sport, right? Ping Pong is actually a trademarked name, but it's not uncommon to call a thing by a brand name: it's like Hoover vs. Vacuum Cleaner, or Kleenex vs. Tissue. The real-fun fact here is that in 1900 Slazenger, a sports company, filed a trademark for the term Whiff-Waff - and 120 years laters (somehow) _Ping Pong_ prevailed while _Whiff-Waff_ died out, despite the fact that it's clearly more joyful. ([link to an oddly self-righteous article](https://www.worldwidewords.org/topicalwords/tp-whi1.htm)).
- **This stone man**: The Apennine Colossus ([link](https://unusualplaces.org/the-appennine-colossus/)) is a stone sculpture in Tuscany, Italy, which is a personification (embodiment?) of the Apennine mountain region. This is why he's really big, but also I guess why he's made of stone? The use of stone to represent stone is perhaps a little on-the-nose, but the piece is gorgeous and captivating.It was created in the late 1500s by a Flemish sculptor residing in Florence, and some people argue that if it placed in the Piazza della Signora (and not in the private garden of a Medici home some seven miles from Florence) it would be considered a masterpiece.
- **This new word**: _Farrago_ means some kind of confused, haphazard, or disorganised mix - a word around which I appear to have been building a life philosophy.
- **This set of tarot cards**: Don't ask how I got here, but this week I learned one can purchase a Hello Kitty themed set of tarot cards for a cool £250 ([etsy link](https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/637754503/last-day-70-off-and-free-shipping))
- **This medical condition**: Stendhal Condition, named after a French novelist, is characterised by dizziness, hallucinations, and heart palpitations which come on after being overwhelmed by the beauty of art. Amazingly, that means it's really common in Florence, Italy ([link](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2991758/))

## Cool Articles

- **What to talk about in 1:1s** by Julia Evans on her [_wizard zines_](https://wizardzines.com/comics/1-1s/) site. I really like the simplicity of this piece - it's just a collection of example things you might want to raise to a manager, so that 1:1s can actually be useful to you in the 6-12 month time span, and not just a box to tick, or reason to spend time away from your desk.
- **Against Waldenponding** by Venkatesh Rao on their [_Breaking Smart_](https://breakingsmart.substack.com/p/against-waldenponding) newsletter. No one is quite sure on the effects of so much technology, content, and mediums (podcast, YouTube video, Netflix, Newsletter) on our brain. It's given rise to a counter-culture, which is almost a meme in some tech circles, where someone voluntarily completely disconnects and go to live in a cabin in the woods. This article argues against, and while I don't necessarily agree with all the points the author makes, I think it's an interesting counter point in a debate where I rarely see someone taking an opposing side.

## What I've had on Rotation

- **Something New**: _Pink Elephant_, by Stand Atlantic (Pop Punk). I adore pop-punk, and I think everybody should embrace their inner teenager. This album is cathartic and comfortably pop-punk, but even better than that, it's a great album in its own right - it doesn't rely on nostalgia or tropes. Put it on play and relive the vibrancy of being 17-19 again. ([links](https://songwhip.com/stand-atlantic/pink-elephant)).
- **Something Old**: _Safe in the Steep Cliffs_ by Emancipator (Contemporary Instrumental). I've spent a lot of time this week needing music without words, and I've been rediscovering a lot of my old favourites during my time at University. The tempo and beat of this album is great to head-bop to while you're in a flow state, but perhaps a little too-high energy of more cognitively intense tasks ([links](https://songwhip.com/emancipator/safe-in-the-steep-cliffs))

## Cool Things

- [By the Books](https://mailchimp.com/presents/by-the-books/) - it's like the online experience of browsing a friend's bookshelf, but online. Created / curated by MailChimp.
- [blobs.app](https://blobs.app/) - soft and gooey blobs are becoming more commonplace in UI design. This little web UI will generate a simple svg (or Flutter) blob for you to use. I got this from the Smashing Magazine newsletter,
