Understanding Tools by What They Make Possible
Tools extend what human beings can do.
Some protect us from the environment or make activities more practical. Others allow us to calculate, model, and understand situations that would otherwise be difficult to examine.
My interest in tools lies in the relationship between their functions, the conditions in which they are used, and the decisions they help us make.
This collection covers two broad subjects: physical equipment and computational tools.
1. Choosing and Using Physical Equipment
The usefulness of equipment depends on how well it suits an activity, how reliably it performs, and how its limitations affect real-world use.
The value and lifespan of gear
This article examines the value of durable equipment, maintenance, replacement, redundancy, and the practical circumstances that determine whether a piece of gear remains useful.
Equipment and situational awareness
- Gear Philosophy at Sea: Wristwatches ★ How Accurate Time Helps You Decide Your Next Move
- Polarized Sunglasses Can Make Screens Disappear ★ What Happened with My iPhone, Car Navigation Display, and an LCD Sign
These articles explore how apparently small characteristics of everyday equipment can influence awareness, visibility, and decisions during practical activities.
2. Learning Programming with Excel VBA
Excel offers a familiar environment in which to begin programming.
A worksheet provides a place to organize data, inspect results, and observe how instructions transform information.
This article explains why Excel VBA remains an accessible way to begin learning programming and how simple programs can lead toward more sophisticated analytical work.
3. Probability, Markov Chains & Monte Carlo Simulation
Programming becomes especially interesting when it makes uncertain processes easier to investigate.
Random numbers and repeated calculations allow us to explore possible outcomes, examine variation, and understand systems whose future states cannot be predicted exactly.
This article introduces probability-based simulation using Excel and VBA, including random walks, Markov chains, and Monte Carlo methods.
Explore Other Subjects
The same interest in mechanisms, practical conditions, and useful decisions appears throughout this site’s English articles.
