One of the underrated joys of life is carrying out a task, however minor, so well that the performance itself, apart from the result, is gratifying. Today’s posting is a recommendation to check out a set of brief videos (most seem to be 1-4 minutes in length) that instruct the viewer how to perform certain small, everyday tasks with exquisite competence.
I’m a big fan of competence, and, in some ways, I find competence in small matters more enjoyable and gratifying than mastery of the big issues. One reason is simply scale. The first time I held an iPod in my hands, I could appreciate that its aesthetics, functions, and controls were capably designed. On the other hand, my recent attempts to comprehend the execution of Civil War battle plans, even with the advantages of a 150-year retrospective and libraries of expert analysis quickly fell to confusion and impossible comparisons. In addition, when the stakes are on the order of life or death, wealth or poverty, and war or peace, it’s difficult to step back, flip the switch of my observing ego to “on,” and approvingly evaluate the nuance and grace with which a decisive strategy is implemented. In contrast, if I’m watching the NCAA Basketball Tournament, I can whole-heartedly admire a well-executed pick and roll, even if it’s to the detriment of the team I’m supporting.
Consequently, I’m impressed by this collection of over 20 Japanese-produced instructional videos collected and available without cost at the YouTube site. All of those I’ve watched are in Japanese, but the instructions are nonetheless clear and easy to understand. Many produce that much to be desired “Aha, Of Course,” reaction.
The entire set of instructional videos can be found at ~this link~
Some of the videos I think are especially impressive include
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How to put on a Band Aid so it stay on all day
How to fold T-Shirt in split seconds
How to stir cocoa so it dissolves well
How to peel shrimp shell easily and neatly
Credit Due Department:
Links to these videos have appeared on multiple sites, and it’s unclear to me which site popularlized them. Lifehacker, however, is one of the first places I read about these.
1 response so far ↓
1 MindSpin // May 7, 2006 at 10:04 am
The charm of small, discreet tasks is that we can actually master them. They are comforting segments of life from which we can derive a sense of order and competence amid all those larger, messier aspects of existence over which we may, finally, have all too little control, much to our consternation. (I think I just explained to myself a number of the things I like to do. I like writing best when I have communicated a small thing perfectly. I like gardening because I can bring into being a beautiful space - as small as a bloom or someday as big as my back yard - though gardening is somewhat messy, like life, and has its bugs and poison ivy, its drought and rain.) As for the above suggestions, I’m going for “How to Peel a Shrimp.” Shrimp are ever so worth the trouble.