Just Joshin' #124 (Bernoulli)
1 Family Photo:
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Bernoulli's Principle states that as a fluid's velocity increases, its pressure decreases.
It turns out air is a fluid—this insight helped the Wright brothers get their airplane off the ground.
If you hold the end of a piece of paper and blow across the top, the other end will rise. The fast-moving air from your breath has lower pressure than the stationary air beneath the paper. The pressure difference overcomes the downward force of gravity. The paper rises.
This principle also makes an awesome toilet paper cannon.
If you shoot a jet of air up at a ball, some of the air's force goes directly into the ball, pushing it up. Some of the air deflects around the sides of the ball. This fast-moving air creates a pocket of low pressure around the ball, while atmospheric pressure pushes in. This creates an equilibrium. If the ball gets off-centered, atmospheric pressure guides it back to the fast-moving, low-pressured air in the middle of the airstream.
There's something magical about watching a ball levitate in a flow of air.
The Exploration Discovery Center has a Bernoulli's Principle exhibit. The SLO Children's Museum has one too. YouTube has loads of Bernoulli's Principle diagrams and demonstrations. I love them all.
The dad next door is a science teacher. This week, we rigged up a Bernoulli's Principle demonstration with his leaf blower.
Note: It doesn't work well with a tennis ball. It does work great with those big, cheap rubber balls they sell at the grocery store.
The other dad and I were far more excited than our kids when we got the demonstration working. Our kids were more interested in ways they could whack the ball off its floating cushion. It made me think about how a jet of air and Bernoulli's Principle could help you make a sweet tee-ball stand.
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Go long my children, disrupt the equilibrium.
1 Dad Joke:
Corporate Pressure
On LinkedIn, my coworker Joel responded to a post about company structures by asking, "Why does an organization have to be a hierarchy?" Navigate the system you are in, just don't assume the system is correct because everyone does it that way.
One of our principles at Cooptimize is that companies don't have to be pyramid shaped...companies can be many shapes. It has been fun (and challenging) to explore the shapes of our cooperative. I'm glad we're experimenting here instead of copy/pasting the Microsoft model.
Highlights:
States of Pressure
More highlights than usual this week. Oh well—it's my newsletter, so I get to make editorial decisions. I liked the way these quotes contrasted with each other. And I didn't feel any...pressure to cut them down.
The Disadvantages of an Elite Education by William Deresiewicz
Guide to Career Planning: Skills and education by Marc Andreessen
Why? If you’re going to be a high achiever, you’re going to be in lots of situations where you’re going to be quickly making decisions in the presence of incomplete or incorrect information, under intense time pressure, and often under intense political pressure. You’re going to screw up—frequently—and the screwups will have serious consequences, and you’ll feel incredibly stupid every time. It can’t faze you—you have to be able to just get right back up and keep on going.
Where to Life by Simon Sarris
Scenius, or Communal Genius by Kevin Kelly
Individuals immersed in a productive scenius will blossom and produce their best work. When buoyed by scenius, you act like genius. Your like-minded peers, and the entire environment inspire you.
The geography of scenius is nurtured by several factors:
...
Local tolerance for the novelties — The local “outside” does not push back too hard against the transgressions of the scene. The renegades and mavericks are protected by this buffer zone.
Little Ways The World Works by Morgan Housel
So you never really know something’s maximum strength, because it’s capable of adapting to whatever you throw at it.
Becoming Data Driven, From First Principles by Cedric Chin
1. They can work to improve the system
2. They can distort the system
3. Or they can distort the data
Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born by Henrik Karlsson
iamJoshKnox Highlight:
Don't feel any pressure to buy, but my book is still
Available on Amazon here (or reply and I'd love to gift you a copy)
Feeling Pressured?
Grab some time on my calendar and share a story this week:
Book some time even if you don't know what you want to talk about:
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Until next week,
iamJoshKnox
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Josh Knox
Hi! I am Josh Knox. Read more of me here: 👇
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