I wish to transform my own repertoire of early experiments into building blocks of scientific investigation maturity. Hopefully this will reflect on solutions to be developed further. A quick note on the expression “rule of thumb” I used in this post title. Some say that the term’s etymological origin lies in a law that limited the maximum thickness of a stick with which it was permissible for a man to beat his wife.
In the United States, legal decisions in Mississippi (1824) and North Carolina (1868 and 1874) make reference to—and reject—an unnamed “old doctrine” or “ancient law” by which a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no wider than his thumb. For example, the 1874 case State v. Oliver (North Carolina Reports, Vol. 70, Sec. 60, p. 44) states: “We assume that the old doctrine that a husband had the right to whip his wife, provided that he used a switch no larger than his thumb, is not the law in North Carolina.” The Straight Dope
Jokes aside: maybe i should probably have said the rule of thumb relates to principles that are not intended to be very accurate or much reliable for every situation. Let the lessons learned from my failures stick with me permanently and, as my own thumb, may I be able to easily access them as thinking tools in the time of need.
I should be posting things I’ve come to notice, as a developer, and should be paying attention when dealing with human/accessible/usable/social/urban technology. Maybe I will come up with old-news for some, but maybe useful for some and reminders for myself.
