There is a useful principle about signals that applies well beyond sound, and whistles are the clearest everyday demonstration of it.
The principle is that being heard is a matter…
There is a question that seems too large to answer and turns out to have a small number of recurring answers.
The question is why a particular city is where…
There is a difference between a piece of engineering and a commitment, and reclaimed land is the largest example of the second.
A bridge, once built, stands. A tunnel, once…
There is a common misunderstanding about coloured windows that makes the craft seem simpler than it was.
The assumption is that the glass is a canvas — clear material with…
There is a category of change so complete that the previous state becomes difficult to imagine, and street lighting is among the largest.
The state it replaced was real darkness.…
There is a problem in the design of any keyboard instrument that strikes rather than plucks, and solving it took a long time.
The problem is that a string only…