111–120 of 147 posts
Its not really an interesting product. Its a fad. The article really doesn't explain why fads happen. I think humans are just dumb animals at heart who like shiny things and automatically copy what other humans are doing without even realizing it.
Animals that copy other animals tend to be the smarter ones.
Anybody tried a fidget spinner? My wife has adhd and likes the idea but we haven't ordered one. Are these interesting for 5 minutes and then shelved? or do they have some lasting appeal?
I happened to be playing with one when this article popped up in my RSS feed. It's my sons but it's on my desk because I tried repairing the cracked frame with super glue, for about the 5th time. It still works with the cracked frame and the repair didn't take this time because I mindlessly starting playing with it while the glue was still drying. We've had 3 around our house for about 2 weeks and everyone that lives…
Try epoxy instead; it's slower to cure and smells funny, but produces a much stronger bond, and doesn't have the same problems bearing mechanical loads. I like J-B Weld and J-B Kwik, which are strong and resilient as hell (you can fix tractor engines with them!) and double as a low-temperature casting material for additive repairs, but for what you're dealing with here, the cheap Loctite stuff on the drugstore blister card should do you.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you found any good ways to mentally deal with this arguably sucky part of human nature, assuming you belong to the part of humanity that would rather be useful than interesting? For me it's a daily source of consternation and I would like to develop a more healthy way of dealing with it.
No reason you can't be both.
However, as I see it you can choose to invest time and resources into being 'useful' or 'interesting', but the one will usually divert said time and resources away from the other. E.g. you can do deep science, and help the scientific progress of humankind, or you can be 'interesting' like Nye or Tyson.
What really gets be is how fame, or 'interestingness' at times cloud our judgment so that the individuals who focus on that path are more recognized (often for much less actual useful work) than the sticklers who are actually doing most of the useful work.
Its not really an interesting product. Its a fad. The article really doesn't explain why fads happen. I think humans are just dumb animals at heart who like shiny things and automatically copy what other humans are doing without even realizing it.
I've never handled one or seen one up close, and maybe that's why I'm not that interested in them. I've only heard about them a couple of weeks ago, when by chance, I saw a video about it on my YouTube feed. And still, I had to ask myself: "what's the big deal?". Guess I won't know until I actually handle one.
Seems like lots of people dismiss spinners as a fad or silly. They are a fad. But I celebrate the fact that they are generally simple mechanical objects that feel good in the hand. Not a doll, not a cheap molded plastic toy (ugh, Shopkins), not an electronic lump of stuff that will eventually leech into a landfill. (Yes, I know there are LED spinners, but that has it's own simple coolness.) I have enjoyed having ball…
Yeah, I figure the faddishness will fade in about 6 months, as it normally does, but I'm planning to get one myself. I keep a piece of bike chain on my keychain, a plain silver ring on one finger, and a bracelet on one wrist all for the purpose of having some metal to play with during slow meetings. A fidget spinner will fit right in. Actually, can I get a recommendation? I want one that's solid machined aluminum, mi…
Here's a fidget toy made from keyrings and a bit of bike chain.
https://youtu.be/tzXUznrgdbw?t=38s
This one has slightly different threading of the keyring. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1bfPgeq7GE
This is a great article about fidget spinners: https://geeksdistrict.com/inside-the-fidget-spinner-gold-rus... "Over the last month or so, the spinning toys have gone from an elementary-school fad to a nationwide obsession. Unlike many other toy crazes, fidget spinners offer a wild-wild west for global capitalists looking to cash in on the craze. For one, there are no patents or trademarks to worry about infringing,…
This looks like a product where some investor will end up with a few dozen railway cars full of unsaleable fidget spinners when the excitement dies down. Some VCs I know had a similar problem with garden gnomes a few years back. They used a few for office decorations and probably buried the rest.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, I figure the faddishness will fade in about 6 months, as it normally does, but I'm planning to get one myself. I keep a piece of bike chain on my keychain, a plain silver ring on one finger, and a bracelet on one wrist all for the purpose of having some metal to play with during slow meetings. A fidget spinner will fit right in. Actually, can I get a recommendation? I want one that's solid machined aluminum, mi…
> I keep a piece of bike chain on my keychain Here's a fidget toy made from keyrings and a bit of bike chain. https://youtu.be/tzXUznrgdbw?t=38s This one has slightly different threading of the keyring. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1bfPgeq7GE
Seems like lots of people dismiss spinners as a fad or silly. They are a fad. But I celebrate the fact that they are generally simple mechanical objects that feel good in the hand. Not a doll, not a cheap molded plastic toy (ugh, Shopkins), not an electronic lump of stuff that will eventually leech into a landfill. (Yes, I know there are LED spinners, but that has it's own simple coolness.) I have enjoyed having ball…
Yeah, I figure the faddishness will fade in about 6 months, as it normally does, but I'm planning to get one myself. I keep a piece of bike chain on my keychain, a plain silver ring on one finger, and a bracelet on one wrist all for the purpose of having some metal to play with during slow meetings. A fidget spinner will fit right in. Actually, can I get a recommendation? I want one that's solid machined aluminum, mi…