Jessica

“When a structure fails or seems in danger of failing the natural instinct of the engineer may be to specify the use of a ‘stronger’ material: in the case of steel, what is known as a ‘higher tensile’ steel. With large structures this is generally a mistake, for it is clear that most of the strength, even of mild steel, is not really being used. This is because, as we have seen, the failure of a structure may be controlled, not by the strength, but by the brittleness of the material. [...] the toughness of most metals is undoubtedly reduced very greatly as the tensile strength increases.”
― J.E. Gordon, [(Structuresor Why Things Don T Fall Down)] [Edited by J Gordon] published on

“Forget about goals, focus on systems instead.”
― James Clear

“What we find difficult about mathematics is the formal, symbolic presentation of the subject by pedagogues with a taste for dogma, sadism and incomprehensible squiggles.”
― J.E. Gordon

“Because you think of yourself as no more than a single thread in the robe, whose duty it is to conform to the mass of people – just as a single white thread seemingly has no wish to clash with the remainder of the garment. [18] But I aspire to be the purple stripe, that is, the garment’s brilliant hem. However small a part it may be, it can still manage to make the garment as a whole attractive. Don’t tell me, then, ‘Be like the rest,’ because in that case I cannot be the purple stripe”
― Epictetus, Discources and Selected Writings