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That's engineering for you. Makes me think of car crumple zones. Catastrophic failure condition for the vehicle, but far better than the option for the humans inside.
Wow, again these reflections just blow my mind. As a physician/surgeon, this just sums the common everyday mindset in my every day work. Gain knowledge and experience to learn to solve the worst case scenario, but also to comprehend the process enough so you can anticipate as much as you can to the unexpected. This was just kind of a "gut feeling" and loose idea in my head until Adam just said the right words to describe the journey of it. I LOVE your channel, thank you for this
When I'm designing 3D printed parts I'm constantly thinking about how it will be actually printed through the FDM technique, one of the biggest things I found to make sure everyone's prints of my designs come out well is to design the parts with no support needed.
I too always strive to design things that use minimal/no supports, the least material possible, and that can also be printed as fast as possible. Priorities of those three varies based on what the thing is supposed to be/do, but "no supports" usually leads the way. Though I often wish I didn't care about this stuff, so I could get stuff done, and move on to the next thing, much faster... :|
I surprises me how many people try and do it all in a single print, when two or more parts that can be assembled later can be printed at the same time.
@@vizionthing I'm in that position now as I see single-print designs as an interesting challenge. Currently trying to modify my TPU lens cap for Uni-T thermal imagers to hold a ZnSe lens, a lens that allows you to see the the heat of individual SMD components on circuitboards close up, and annoyingly realising it can't be done in a single print like my original cap design.
A tangent off of your mastery comments: The improvement of problem solving is vast. I've been playing around with computers since the late 80's. Every time something broke, didn't work right or never worked to begin with... I had to fix it. Over time it seemed as though I had fixed every problem you could have. Not true. Not only that, I often couldn't remember, in a timely manner, how I fixed that problem last time. What I noticed however, was that no matter what the problem was I could fix it relatively quickly. I became a master at finding the answer... not knowing all the answers.
Pursuing mastery is something you squeeze in around paid work. Businesses don't pay for mastery, they pay for "good enough". Which is why so much sucks.
I am currently in school as a Music Education major. I want to be a conductor and band director, a teacher and an artist all in one. Before this, I was a (very) underperforming engineering major. I have used more of Adam’s ideologies and mindsets in my approach to teaching and music than I could have ever guessed. Adam, Grant, and all the mythbusters brought me to engineering, and they continue to carry me through wherever I go. Thank you Adam. I needed to hear this, today, right now. Godspeed.
I used to work in R&D at Hewlett Packard. We had a few vibrating funnels to sort small parts. Funnel vibrates and parts would follow a rail that spiraled up the sides of the funnel. At various points there were shunts, if wrong orientation part would kick back to bottom for example. So all parts same orientation would pass defined gates/shunts that if measurement was same part would fall out of the funnel into a parts tray. Smallest to largest all the way up. Worked really well.
I haven’t even watched this yet and I can already say with absolute certainty that the answer has been and always shall be, yes! Failure is always an option because without failure, knowledge cannot be easily gained. Failure of anything is a learning experience. To fail is to understand or provoke the process of understanding. Also, love you Adam! You’re an inspiration to the world! You keep being awesome!
I have now watched the video and understand where Adam is coming from. I am a model builder and aviation restorationist in my free time. As a model builder, I do go by the “failure is always an option” mindset because it’s a project for my own personal benefit. However, when I’m curating a spacesuit collection or refurbishing an F4U-4 gunsight, I can’t live by that mindset because the objects I’m working with have to be treated the correct way the first and only time I work on them and one day they will be displayed to the public.
"Failure is always an option". Only a Sith deals in absolutes (which is oxymoronic coming from a Jedi, with the usage of the word "only"). But in all seriousness, I can think of at least one context where failure *should not* be an option. To fail in diplomatic relations between countries resulting in [insert some catastrophe] *should not* be an option. Or perhaps I'm reading your comment on a different level of analysis than the one you're implying.
Wanted to share a story. I was laid up for an entire year, hip replacement, removal and replacement again. I was home bound. I have a pretty cool garage to work in, heated air conditioned, a heavy duty maple top work area. I had nearly a five gallon bucket full of junk, screws, nails, bolts washers nuts and yes drywall screws. I never throw anything away. I spent about 2hrs a day and not only sorted but bagged and catalog them into the Plano plastic bins. I did my brothers who had a similar situation. Now every neighbor I know has everything sorted, bagged and cataloged. I enjoy doing it, put on some great music and go to work. I literally could do that as a job! What would have helped so much was seeing Adams tattoo of a ruler Ron his fore arm !
"Failure is always an option" That simple statement helped me to understand that the fear of failing can be the biggest obstacle. Once that fear is conquered, doors truly open.
Yes! That phrase literally changed my life when I heard him say it many many many years ago. I’m now very good at what I do bc allowed those words to carve themselves into my bones. I get that in some sitchs- like doing a job for pay, or a life hangs in the balance- failure isn’t on the menu (but it does happen) and we strive for “very good” deliverables that will make customer/patron very happy. But consider the amount of failure and time and frustration that went into learning the skill/craft to get that job! < but you already know this and I’m just rambling to agree with you.
Heard a few min ago about the nuke plant in Ukraine getting attacked, and needed to hear the voice of someone calming to help bring me back down. Thanks for this and all your vids as they help me think through the perspective changes.
Don't get too worked up about everything you hear. I'm not saying that it's all fun and games over there, but the exaggerations and outcries are very unnecessary, when it can get people riled up like that.
From Schlock Mercenary: "Failure is not an option. It is mandatory. The option is whether or not to let failure be the last thing you do." When I can't do something or it all breaks down, I try to keep that in mind. Also, knowing I'm not great at some things, I try not to take on responsibilities I can't deliver well.
The bucket of screws thing turns out to be how I approach video editing. First pass is all the very obvious things (getting the clips in narrative in order generally), 2nd pass is the next macro element of the edit. Until finally, it's about fixing the micro elements that just feel "off" for some reason, like shifting an edit timing a couple frames this way or that.
Similarly, in college I had trouble writing papers as a chronic procrastinator and perfectionist. I had a professor that hammered it into my mind that the first draft is going to read like a kindergartener wrote it. Just putting words on paper, no matter how bad, is that part that matters. And from there it's easy to build on it. Really changed my perspective on writing.
I sorted a bucket of mostly M3 screws by dumping them on the floor and then started sorting them in piles of 3x5, 3x6 etc and what I wasn't looking for any specific pile went into another pile I sorted later.
Love the comment on Tom Woodford. As a Luthier myself, I get exactly what you are talking about. My custom builds are always a chore to work through as failure is not an option, but I still love to do the work. It's the best kind of stress that pushes you to use all of your faculties to bring something to life that your client will love....of course I'm never fully satisfied with the end product because I see all the little flaws that no one else will ever notice.
Oh I hate that details curse, where the object you created looks great and works as intended, but you know there's one or two details you don't feel are up to your standards and they're not critical enough to make you fix or re-print the object, so they sit there forever more mocking you ;)
@@licensetodrive9930 I hate some projects because I feel I must make it perfect. I feel I did a trash job on some things , but other people praise my work, even after I point out all the flaws. That's when I actually knew what the phrase beauty's in the eye of the beholder means.
My reaction to the question about sorting screws is "That's what interns are for." My son served as a volunteer intern in the scene shop of a community theatre, and that sort of time-consuming, unskilled task usually was delegated to him so that the technical director could focus on the tasks that required his experience and expertise. That's not to say that my son did nothing but grunt work. He got to help with a lot of set-building, including carpentry tasks like measuring and cutting lumber to create the pieces required for a specific set. But some grunt work was necessary, and it made sense to have the intern do it. For almost any master craftsman, I suspect that the same reasoning applies to apprentices. That's how you get your start in the craft, whether it's carpentry or metalworking or anything else.
Another thing to keep in mind, when you have an apprentice, work with him and see how the person learns the new job, it is uplifting for me. When the person starts working on their own and you see that it develops a work set, then I feel proud
One of the best ways I have ever either been taught on the job or taught someone on the job is simply this: Thing A is what they want you to do. Thing B is what works. I will teach you both items, and let you figure out what works for you. (Edited for punctuation.)
It’s impossible to anticipate every way something will go wrong at the start of a project because there are numerous ways things can fail which are beyond our knowledge and experience, even as experts. I’ve been working in my profession for 25 years now, and I still encounter problems which I’ve never seen before. True mastery is the ability to draw upon your experience in dealing with unforeseen or unforseeable problems.
Failure cost me $50,000. It was something that I was ready to accept and absorbed because the lesson and experience was more valuable than the money. As I age, I realize that experience is nearly invaluable and making to perfection is worth the risk taken.
I'm a fitter by trade but hadn't worked in trade in any real way since 1995, in 2020 I fell into woodwork to help my eldest daughter in her woodworking at school. After making a couple of little things I was asked to make a special box for a friend as a paid job. Despite taking my time I made a couple of mistakes that meant having to start over as this was my first client job. It certainly tested my patience & sanity to finish it to a semi professional grade product. I wanted this to be perfect as it would hopefully be shown to others for future jobs. I went a bit beyond in it's finish to ensure a great customer experience. Now we are starting our own woodwork business (very slowly as my wife & I gain a whole new skill set), we now have a small workshop setup.
Adam, the philosophy about failure that you're expounding is what I would call "resilience." I was introduced to the concept when I spent a couple of years working for a large cybersecurity team developing strategies for a U.S. government agency. Their view, which I agree with, is that it's foolish for you to set as your goal the total elimination of risk. You'll never achieve that, and if you convince yourself that you have (that you have made your systems impregnable to attack), you will only make your organization brittle. You'll be complacent with false security until your security measures fail, and then you'll panic because you don't have a plan for dealing with it. (Why would you plan for something that you believe CANNOT occur?) So the wisest approach is what you described: identify all of the failure modes you can and prepare for them. Yes, take whatever measures you can to prevent those things from happening, but expect that some of them will anyway, and develop a detailed recovery plan for each one. When that day comes, you'll be ready, and you'll know what to do because it's all been worked out in advance. That is resilience, and it works not just for cybersecurity, but for any kind of disaster preparation and recovery.
Failure I would think would have to be the best learning tool out there. It teaches you how NOT to do something to achieve the goal your striving for. Those out there that are afraid to fail are afraid to learn and become a master of their craft. - Jason
“Failure is not an option” thats a good mindset when pursuing excellence. Real failure to me is giving up after making mistakes that are inherent in any worth while goals we chase after. Mistakes are the poo/fertilizer new success grows from, and I’ve made a ton of poo!
The skill of differentiation that is required to sort screws can be developed in a surprising number of other activities! For example: assembling jigsaw puzzles, sorting LEGOs or working at an antiques store with bulk bins.
I'd love to see Adam and Mark Rober get together on a episode and design and make something cool. I think it would be a great challenge for both and we would get to see something awesome.
As a software engineer, the difference between a coder and an engineer, the engineer can more accurately describe the way the solution will solve the problem.
The engineer meticulously plans out routes and modes of failure and designs systems to avoid them. The coder just wades in and learns by the system failing. Again and again. The prototyper tries to kind of do a combination of both..
Failure is an option when we're doing client work, you just can't leave it be, you've got to solve the problem too. But I think we have to keep the fauilure is an option mindest or the stress of perfectionisim will kill you in short order! Sorting big messes of things [that's how I do it as well] always takes less time than I imagine it will before I start.
Everything in video resonated with me, and applies directly to my LEGO design business. Right from the mindset change, seeking mastery, failure not an option for the client and you even covered sorting! Amazingly good content here for anyone and it applies to wide spectrum of crafts and trades. These are always so insightful, thank you very much for this Adam.
I have to say there is no one I love more universally in my time on this planet beyond my daughters than Adam Savage. I hope to tell him in person some day.
It is not about pleasing the client. It is about your integrity. Please yourself, please your client. You will be harder on yourself than any client. Understand the client. Always be your best.
Adam, Absolutely! Failure should always to be expected. That being said, Failure is never just accepted. We fix that shit and learn from it. We better ourselves every day. One fixed goof after another we come closer to Mastery. Thanks for the video. Remember kids, be humble, be respectful, and own your dignity like you can afford to share it.
As an old printer, I am reminded of my estimating teacher's story of a graphic designer who brought in a client job that could not be printed successfully for an entire run. When so informed, the designer replied, "That's OK, I just need one good copy for my portfolio." Failure for the customer was an option as long as there was minimal success along the way for the designer.
Google has hits for "screw sorting machine" so some people imagine they've done it. If often wondered if you could do a first pass by dropping through an air stream so heavy one drop into the closest bins and lighter ones drop into bins farther away.
"Maxim 70. Failure is not an option - it is mandatory. The option is whether or not to let failure be the last thing you do." - Schlock Mercenary, 18 Sep 2016, '70 Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries'
3:02 - 3:44 If you could fit that on a t-shirt, I would buy as many as you could print. Or at least one for every manager I know who thinks rewriting the manual makes a difference.
I would say it is less "Failure is not an option" than it is the project cannot end with that failure. Because failures will happen. But it is as Adam said just prior, it is knowing/figuring out how to address the failures and not make them the end product. So, kinda: Failure is always an option, just don't let it be the final option. Because failure is not in what happens, but in how we deal with what happens.
A great painter I knew once said "You are not done with your work until you screw up." I live by it, keep improving and testing new things is i valuable and when I screw up I just learn to not repeat it. Not a good advice for doing something for a customer bjt ye get the gist.
I'll get mixed nuts and bolts from a yardsale or something and pull out all one thing just like the long screws and then afterwards more of the first thing absolutely shows up.
I feel like a few different sizes of wire mesh/fencing might get you off to a good start with sorting screws. i.e. dump the pile onto some small-holed chicken-wire, sift it for a bit and perhaps the two different piles you end up with will be mostly one size or another, making them easier to manually sort definitively. Rinse and repeat with some different mesh sizes. Also, just shaking the bucket could help to some degree (don't remember the actual name of the effect, but larger screws should end up on top, while smaller screws will fall between them to the bottom).
the drywall organizing video will instantly be pulled from memory the moment an assortment of screws happens to fall to my feet. Simple but great solution
Theoretically you could probably machine small corridors for given shaftwidth + length and diameter of the head and try to sort that way... what fits stays in the corridor, what sticks out would need to go into another... but that is closing in on "how much expense and preliminary work would it be worth for you" as you'd have to do it with a big block of aluminium or some hard plastic, maybe even 3D print...
Now that i thought about it... depending on how good you are, that could probably even be made into a self sorting apparatus of some sort... like making the main path snaking and all the screws sit in that slot and it has some openings in different sizes (smallest first so that the bigger ones go past) and at the end of the row it "throws out" the ones not fitting into any of these other sizes... with a small spout or something, going into different boxes for storage... like a big marble track just for screws.
Of course failure is an option. If you go thru life thinking that no matter what you do, your work product will always be just wonderful and a gift to others, you got bigger problems than than how you approach your craft. To overcome failure, you have to be aware of it and be able to recognize it at a distance while it can still be avoided.
When I'm R&D'ing something, failure is an option - otherwise I can't learn the weaknesses of a design! But when I'm building something for a client, it had better NEVER fail (other than wear and tear)(I build cat trees.. lol)
The tl;dr - how do you convince someone that a multi-tier sorting system is more beneficial than an overwhelming, 'one-touch, one-pass' method? The long version: My (usual) method for sorting large quantities of multiple differences is just give myself only 2 criteria. (This may change based on what features the final sorting will share.) For instance, quickly sorting a mixed deck of cards, my process (after pulling the Aces) is: Red or Black? Then, those two piles get sorted by: Heart or Diamond, and Club or Spade? Then I refine the suits by Face/10; 2 thru 5; and 6 thru 9. After that, putting them all in order is a *breeze*. I find that dealing with so few decisions each time, over multiple iterations, is a) easy, and 2) much less prone to mistakes. But others who are helping me handle bigger tasks of a similar type would get upset by the repetition of handling the same cards multiple times to achieve a result that could be gotten by looking at each card in turn and determining it's final location in the stack at that time. How do I convince them my method has merit?
It is a wonder that we live in an age where fasteners are so cheap. The romans burnt down their buildings and sieved the ashes to salvage the nails. What would they have done for a bucket of screws! Jackpot!
Failure is still an option I guess, for a given stage of a build, but you have to have a fix in the event of failure, even if you don't know what the fix is yet
"failure is always an option" especially when you getting around 50's and looking for a job (at any level ). Call it Age/time discrimination my friend and no one is exempt!!.
I'm always bothered by the simplistic models for assessing a situation in some form of "cost/benefit analysis." As a small business owner, there are some things that I do that are not an optimal use of my time, but I still have to do them-naively applying cost-benefit would mean I'd never record tax information, for instance. As a hobbyist and maker, I do things like dismantling discarded devices to gain parts, and again, to compare the worth of my time to the value of recovered parts is almost always a losing proposition. In essence, to answer the question of "is this worth doing?", there is no algorithm that gives you the optimal result.
I believe seperating screws of varying sizes can be done with a centrifuge which has increasing height sloped concentric rings. This relies on the varying mass of the screw types and consequently a different ability to reach a certain stage of the centrifuge at a constant rotational speed. I just made this up… so if it works please get back to me and let me share in the credit ;-) This setup (if it works) will work for all sorts of sorting… pun intended.
Adam, since you like Ted's channel, you might like SQUATCH253 as well. He's in the middle of restoring a 1930s Caterpillar, super detailed project, keeping the paintina intact but mechanically as close to zero hours as possible.
Please don't apologize for doing stuff off camera. Everyone needs their "Them" time, and we'd hate to see you start to view recording what you're doing as a burden that effects your enjoyment of what you do!
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One type of failure-related mastery that wasn’t mentioned: building a preferred failure condition to prevent a more catastrophic one.
That's engineering for you. Makes me think of car crumple zones. Catastrophic failure condition for the vehicle, but far better than the option for the humans inside.
Wow, again these reflections just blow my mind.
As a physician/surgeon, this just sums the common everyday mindset in my every day work. Gain knowledge and experience to learn to solve the worst case scenario, but also to comprehend the process enough so you can anticipate as much as you can to the unexpected.
This was just kind of a "gut feeling" and loose idea in my head until Adam just said the right words to describe the journey of it.
I LOVE your channel, thank you for this
When I'm designing 3D printed parts I'm constantly thinking about how it will be actually printed through the FDM technique, one of the biggest things I found to make sure everyone's prints of my designs come out well is to design the parts with no support needed.
I too always strive to design things that use minimal/no supports, the least material possible, and that can also be printed as fast as possible. Priorities of those three varies based on what the thing is supposed to be/do, but "no supports" usually leads the way.
Though I often wish I didn't care about this stuff, so I could get stuff done, and move on to the next thing, much faster... :|
Same! CAD doesn’t care about gravity, the 3D printer does 😂
@@mynameiswayne. You got the point.🤣👨🔧👷♂️
I surprises me how many people try and do it all in a single print, when two or more parts that can be assembled later can be printed at the same time.
@@vizionthing I'm in that position now as I see single-print designs as an interesting challenge. Currently trying to modify my TPU lens cap for Uni-T thermal imagers to hold a ZnSe lens, a lens that allows you to see the the heat of individual SMD components on circuitboards close up, and annoyingly realising it can't be done in a single print like my original cap design.
A tangent off of your mastery comments: The improvement of problem solving is vast. I've been playing around with computers since the late 80's. Every time something broke, didn't work right or never worked to begin with... I had to fix it. Over time it seemed as though I had fixed every problem you could have. Not true. Not only that, I often couldn't remember, in a timely manner, how I fixed that problem last time. What I noticed however, was that no matter what the problem was I could fix it relatively quickly. I became a master at finding the answer... not knowing all the answers.
Pursuing mastery is something you squeeze in around paid work. Businesses don't pay for mastery, they pay for "good enough". Which is why so much sucks.
This x1000
I am currently in school as a Music Education major. I want to be a conductor and band director, a teacher and an artist all in one. Before this, I was a (very) underperforming engineering major. I have used more of Adam’s ideologies and mindsets in my approach to teaching and music than I could have ever guessed. Adam, Grant, and all the mythbusters brought me to engineering, and they continue to carry me through wherever I go. Thank you Adam. I needed to hear this, today, right now. Godspeed.
Adam's approach to sorting screws is my favorite way to do jigsaw puzzles! It is surprisingly effective
I used to work in R&D at Hewlett Packard. We had a few vibrating funnels to sort small parts. Funnel vibrates and parts would follow a rail that spiraled up the sides of the funnel. At various points there were shunts, if wrong orientation part would kick back to bottom for example. So all parts same orientation would pass defined gates/shunts that if measurement was same part would fall out of the funnel into a parts tray. Smallest to largest all the way up. Worked really well.
Automated assembly machines use this method for all sorts of parts.
I haven’t even watched this yet and I can already say with absolute certainty that the answer has been and always shall be, yes! Failure is always an option because without failure, knowledge cannot be easily gained. Failure of anything is a learning experience. To fail is to understand or provoke the process of understanding.
Also, love you Adam! You’re an inspiration to the world! You keep being awesome!
Failure is not an option. It is compulsory.
I have now watched the video and understand where Adam is coming from. I am a model builder and aviation restorationist in my free time. As a model builder, I do go by the “failure is always an option” mindset because it’s a project for my own personal benefit. However, when I’m curating a spacesuit collection or refurbishing an F4U-4 gunsight, I can’t live by that mindset because the objects I’m working with have to be treated the correct way the first and only time I work on them and one day they will be displayed to the public.
"Failure is always an option". Only a Sith deals in absolutes (which is oxymoronic coming from a Jedi, with the usage of the word "only").
But in all seriousness, I can think of at least one context where failure *should not* be an option. To fail in diplomatic relations between countries resulting in [insert some catastrophe] *should not* be an option.
Or perhaps I'm reading your comment on a different level of analysis than the one you're implying.
@@RideManDave you’re absolutely right.
@@chavezmarchant2766 look at the comment I left as a reply to myself. You may understand what I mean.
Failure is ALWAYS an option. It's not the preferred option, but it's always an option.
Failure is never an option, it ALWAYS turns up as an uninvited guest.
Failure? whats that?
Failure is not an option, it's mandatory. The option is not letting failure be the endpoint.
Wanted to share a story. I was laid up for an entire year, hip replacement, removal and replacement again. I was home bound. I have a pretty cool garage to work in, heated air conditioned, a heavy duty maple top work area. I had nearly a five gallon bucket full of junk, screws, nails, bolts washers nuts and yes drywall screws. I never throw anything away. I spent about 2hrs a day and not only sorted but bagged and catalog them into the Plano plastic bins. I did my brothers who had a similar situation. Now every neighbor I know has everything sorted, bagged and cataloged. I enjoy doing it, put on some great music and go to work. I literally could do that as a job! What would have helped so much was seeing Adams tattoo of a ruler Ron his fore arm !
"Failure is always an option"
That simple statement helped me to understand that the fear of failing can be the biggest obstacle. Once that fear is conquered, doors truly open.
Yes! That phrase literally changed my life when I heard him say it many many many years ago. I’m now very good at what I do bc allowed those words to carve themselves into my bones.
I get that in some sitchs- like doing a job for pay, or a life hangs in the balance- failure isn’t on the menu (but it does happen) and we strive for “very good” deliverables that will make customer/patron very happy.
But consider the amount of failure and time and frustration that went into learning the skill/craft to get that job! < but you already know this and I’m just rambling to agree with you.
Heard a few min ago about the nuke plant in Ukraine getting attacked, and needed to hear the voice of someone calming to help bring me back down.
Thanks for this and all your vids as they help me think through the perspective changes.
I just read it. Apprently the Russians took over a nuclear power plant. There was a fire outside, that is out out now. No radiation leaks.
Don't get too worked up about everything you hear.
I'm not saying that it's all fun and games over there, but the exaggerations and outcries are very unnecessary, when it can get people riled up like that.
From Schlock Mercenary: "Failure is not an option. It is mandatory. The option is whether or not to let failure be the last thing you do."
When I can't do something or it all breaks down, I try to keep that in mind. Also, knowing I'm not great at some things, I try not to take on responsibilities I can't deliver well.
Damnit!!!! Adam’s passion and positivity is so influential, these videos brighten up my already happy day.
The bucket of screws thing turns out to be how I approach video editing. First pass is all the very obvious things (getting the clips in narrative in order generally), 2nd pass is the next macro element of the edit. Until finally, it's about fixing the micro elements that just feel "off" for some reason, like shifting an edit timing a couple frames this way or that.
Interesting analogy!
Similarly, in college I had trouble writing papers as a chronic procrastinator and perfectionist. I had a professor that hammered it into my mind that the first draft is going to read like a kindergartener wrote it. Just putting words on paper, no matter how bad, is that part that matters. And from there it's easy to build on it.
Really changed my perspective on writing.
I went through a very similar process when editing a video together just recently!
I sorted a bucket of mostly M3 screws by dumping them on the floor and then started sorting them in piles of 3x5, 3x6 etc and what I wasn't looking for any specific pile went into another pile I sorted later.
Love the comment on Tom Woodford. As a Luthier myself, I get exactly what you are talking about. My custom builds are always a chore to work through as failure is not an option, but I still love to do the work. It's the best kind of stress that pushes you to use all of your faculties to bring something to life that your client will love....of course I'm never fully satisfied with the end product because I see all the little flaws that no one else will ever notice.
Oh I hate that details curse, where the object you created looks great and works as intended, but you know there's one or two details you don't feel are up to your standards and they're not critical enough to make you fix or re-print the object, so they sit there forever more mocking you ;)
@@licensetodrive9930 I hate some projects because I feel I must make it perfect. I feel I did a trash job on some things , but other people praise my work, even after I point out all the flaws. That's when I actually knew what the phrase beauty's in the eye of the beholder means.
My reaction to the question about sorting screws is "That's what interns are for." My son served as a volunteer intern in the scene shop of a community theatre, and that sort of time-consuming, unskilled task usually was delegated to him so that the technical director could focus on the tasks that required his experience and expertise. That's not to say that my son did nothing but grunt work. He got to help with a lot of set-building, including carpentry tasks like measuring and cutting lumber to create the pieces required for a specific set. But some grunt work was necessary, and it made sense to have the intern do it.
For almost any master craftsman, I suspect that the same reasoning applies to apprentices. That's how you get your start in the craft, whether it's carpentry or metalworking or anything else.
Generalist who is becoming a master of skills, Adam Savage
Another thing to keep in mind, when you have an apprentice, work with him and see how the person learns the new job, it is uplifting for me. When the person starts working on their own and you see that it develops a work set, then I feel proud
One of the best ways I have ever either been taught on the job or taught someone on the job is simply this:
Thing A is what they want you to do. Thing B is what works.
I will teach you both items, and let you figure out what works for you.
(Edited for punctuation.)
It’s impossible to anticipate every way something will go wrong at the start of a project because there are numerous ways things can fail which are beyond our knowledge and experience, even as experts. I’ve been working in my profession for 25 years now, and I still encounter problems which I’ve never seen before. True mastery is the ability to draw upon your experience in dealing with unforeseen or unforseeable problems.
Failure cost me $50,000. It was something that I was ready to accept and absorbed because the lesson and experience was more valuable than the money. As I age, I realize that experience is nearly invaluable and making to perfection is worth the risk taken.
I'm a fitter by trade but hadn't worked in trade in any real way since 1995, in 2020 I fell into woodwork to help my eldest daughter in her woodworking at school. After making a couple of little things I was asked to make a special box for a friend as a paid job. Despite taking my time I made a couple of mistakes that meant having to start over as this was my first client job. It certainly tested my patience & sanity to finish it to a semi professional grade product. I wanted this to be perfect as it would hopefully be shown to others for future jobs. I went a bit beyond in it's finish to ensure a great customer experience. Now we are starting our own woodwork business (very slowly as my wife & I gain a whole new skill set), we now have a small workshop setup.
Adam, the philosophy about failure that you're expounding is what I would call "resilience." I was introduced to the concept when I spent a couple of years working for a large cybersecurity team developing strategies for a U.S. government agency. Their view, which I agree with, is that it's foolish for you to set as your goal the total elimination of risk. You'll never achieve that, and if you convince yourself that you have (that you have made your systems impregnable to attack), you will only make your organization brittle. You'll be complacent with false security until your security measures fail, and then you'll panic because you don't have a plan for dealing with it. (Why would you plan for something that you believe CANNOT occur?)
So the wisest approach is what you described: identify all of the failure modes you can and prepare for them. Yes, take whatever measures you can to prevent those things from happening, but expect that some of them will anyway, and develop a detailed recovery plan for each one. When that day comes, you'll be ready, and you'll know what to do because it's all been worked out in advance. That is resilience, and it works not just for cybersecurity, but for any kind of disaster preparation and recovery.
Failure I would think would have to be the best learning tool out there. It teaches you how NOT to do something to achieve the goal your striving for. Those out there that are afraid to fail are afraid to learn and become a master of their craft. - Jason
Exactly
"If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you." 😄
“Failure is not an option” thats a good mindset when pursuing excellence. Real failure to me is giving up after making mistakes that are inherent in any worth while goals we chase after. Mistakes are the poo/fertilizer new success grows from, and I’ve made a ton of poo!
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
The skill of differentiation that is required to sort screws can be developed in a surprising number of other activities! For example: assembling jigsaw puzzles, sorting LEGOs or working at an antiques store with bulk bins.
Maxim 70. Failure is not an option - it is mandatory. The option is whether or not to let failure be the last thing you do.
Something about that Maxim has rang through my head and heart ever since it was given
I'd love to see Adam and Mark Rober get together on a episode and design and make something cool. I think it would be a great challenge for both and we would get to see something awesome.
As a software engineer, the difference between a coder and an engineer, the engineer can more accurately describe the way the solution will solve the problem.
The engineer meticulously plans out routes and modes of failure and designs systems to avoid them.
The coder just wades in and learns by the system failing. Again and again.
The prototyper tries to kind of do a combination of both..
Failure is an option when we're doing client work, you just can't leave it be, you've got to solve the problem too. But I think we have to keep the fauilure is an option mindest or the stress of perfectionisim will kill you in short order!
Sorting big messes of things [that's how I do it as well] always takes less time than I imagine it will before I start.
You are better than a therapist for me. So inspiring 🥰
Everything in video resonated with me, and applies directly to my LEGO design business. Right from the mindset change, seeking mastery, failure not an option for the client and you even covered sorting! Amazingly good content here for anyone and it applies to wide spectrum of crafts and trades. These are always so insightful, thank you very much for this Adam.
Hi Adam Love your Tested Videos. You Rock! ☺️
I have to say there is no one I love more universally in my time on this planet beyond my daughters than Adam Savage. I hope to tell him in person some day.
Something like a gemstone size sorter might be something that could work.
It's only failure if you quit. If you keep going, it's a lesson learned.
It is not about pleasing the client. It is about your integrity. Please yourself, please your client. You will be harder on yourself than any client. Understand the client. Always be your best.
Huh, I think I needed this...
Adam,
Absolutely! Failure should always to be expected. That being said, Failure is never just accepted. We fix that shit and learn from it. We better ourselves every day. One fixed goof after another we come closer to Mastery.
Thanks for the video.
Remember kids, be humble, be respectful,
and own your dignity like you can afford to share it.
As an old printer, I am reminded of my estimating teacher's story of a graphic designer who brought in a client job that could not be printed successfully for an entire run. When so informed, the designer replied, "That's OK, I just need one good copy for my portfolio." Failure for the customer was an option as long as there was minimal success along the way for the designer.
What amazing questions!
Google has hits for "screw sorting machine" so some people imagine they've done it. If often wondered if you could do a first pass by dropping through an air stream so heavy one drop into the closest bins and lighter ones drop into bins farther away.
That is LOTS of air.
sorting those screws sounds like it was a real sorted affair
“Servicing” the client is a loaded phrase.
"Maxim 70. Failure is not an option - it is mandatory. The option is whether or not to let failure be the last thing you do." - Schlock Mercenary, 18 Sep 2016, '70 Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries'
3:02 - 3:44 If you could fit that on a t-shirt, I would buy as many as you could print. Or at least one for every manager I know who thinks rewriting the manual makes a difference.
I would say it is less "Failure is not an option" than it is the project cannot end with that failure. Because failures will happen. But it is as Adam said just prior, it is knowing/figuring out how to address the failures and not make them the end product.
So, kinda: Failure is always an option, just don't let it be the final option.
Because failure is not in what happens, but in how we deal with what happens.
Very well explained. I learned something here. Thank you.
A great painter I knew once said "You are not done with your work until you screw up."
I live by it, keep improving and testing new things is i valuable and when I screw up I just learn to not repeat it. Not a good advice for doing something for a customer bjt ye get the gist.
Just a quick reference to bullet time (Matrix). I love this guy so much.
I'll get mixed nuts and bolts from a yardsale or something and pull out all one thing just like the long screws and then afterwards more of the first thing absolutely shows up.
Ya did it off camera! - that time-lapse would have been awesome.
I feel like a few different sizes of wire mesh/fencing might get you off to a good start with sorting screws. i.e. dump the pile onto some small-holed chicken-wire, sift it for a bit and perhaps the two different piles you end up with will be mostly one size or another, making them easier to manually sort definitively. Rinse and repeat with some different mesh sizes. Also, just shaking the bucket could help to some degree (don't remember the actual name of the effect, but larger screws should end up on top, while smaller screws will fall between them to the bottom).
Yus! Im so happy that this channel makes SOO MUCH CONTENT! Props!
the drywall organizing video will instantly be pulled from memory the moment an assortment of screws happens to fall to my feet. Simple but great solution
Sort the screws with graded sieves. ie big holes, then smaller holes then smaller holes etc etc. Eventually they'll be sorted in each sieve!
Theoretically you could probably machine small corridors for given shaftwidth + length and diameter of the head and try to sort that way... what fits stays in the corridor, what sticks out would need to go into another... but that is closing in on "how much expense and preliminary work would it be worth for you" as you'd have to do it with a big block of aluminium or some hard plastic, maybe even 3D print...
Now that i thought about it... depending on how good you are, that could probably even be made into a self sorting apparatus of some sort... like making the main path snaking and all the screws sit in that slot and it has some openings in different sizes (smallest first so that the bigger ones go past) and at the end of the row it "throws out" the ones not fitting into any of these other sizes... with a small spout or something, going into different boxes for storage... like a big marble track just for screws.
I'm really, really. looking forward to what that object is, if you can share it.
Failure is not always a loss. Success is not always a win.
Of course failure is an option. If you go thru life thinking that no matter what you do, your work product will always be just wonderful and a gift to others, you got bigger problems than than how you approach your craft. To overcome failure, you have to be aware of it and be able to recognize it at a distance while it can still be avoided.
Failure is not just an option, but rather a requirement for skill expansion.
In woodworking, I’ve heard it said a master still makes mistakes, they can just hide them better.
When I'm R&D'ing something, failure is an option - otherwise I can't learn the weaknesses of a design! But when I'm building something for a client, it had better NEVER fail (other than wear and tear)(I build cat trees.. lol)
Failling is part of the learning curve :)
You should do a video on making a pinewood Derby car. A great passtime.
The tl;dr - how do you convince someone that a multi-tier sorting system is more beneficial than an overwhelming, 'one-touch, one-pass' method?
The long version:
My (usual) method for sorting large quantities of multiple differences is just give myself only 2 criteria. (This may change based on what features the final sorting will share.)
For instance, quickly sorting a mixed deck of cards, my process (after pulling the Aces) is: Red or Black?
Then, those two piles get sorted by: Heart or Diamond, and Club or Spade?
Then I refine the suits by Face/10; 2 thru 5; and 6 thru 9. After that, putting them all in order is a *breeze*.
I find that dealing with so few decisions each time, over multiple iterations, is a) easy, and 2) much less prone to mistakes.
But others who are helping me handle bigger tasks of a similar type would get upset by the repetition of handling the same cards multiple times to achieve a result that could be gotten by looking at each card in turn and determining it's final location in the stack at that time. How do I convince them my method has merit?
He should have done a standalone timelapse of the drywall screw sorting.
I was just wondering if Adam did commission work, very cool.
It is a wonder that we live in an age where fasteners are so cheap. The romans burnt down their buildings and sieved the ashes to salvage the nails. What would they have done for a bucket of screws! Jackpot!
Failure is still an option I guess, for a given stage of a build, but you have to have a fix in the event of failure, even if you don't know what the fix is yet
Time an Materials....
Goes hand in hand.
Appreciate the part where he equates innovation and breathing.
Dang I love these! Thank you Adam. 🤘🏽
From the thumbnail I thought you were enjoying a smoke!! Haha
Failure is not a option but it happens sometimes.
It is an option, just not one that is strived for.
Plan for failure but expect for the best.
Failure is always an option. That’s how you find your problem
"failure is always an option" especially when you getting around 50's and looking for a job (at any level ). Call it Age/time discrimination my friend and no one is exempt!!.
I'm always bothered by the simplistic models for assessing a situation in some form of "cost/benefit analysis." As a small business owner, there are some things that I do that are not an optimal use of my time, but I still have to do them-naively applying cost-benefit would mean I'd never record tax information, for instance. As a hobbyist and maker, I do things like dismantling discarded devices to gain parts, and again, to compare the worth of my time to the value of recovered parts is almost always a losing proposition. In essence, to answer the question of "is this worth doing?", there is no algorithm that gives you the optimal result.
Learning curves come in all shapes an sizes!😃👍
Hey Adam!
Always interesting! Thanks 👍
Failure is the option when the journey or creative innovation is the thing that makes you money.
I believe seperating screws of varying sizes can be done with a centrifuge which has increasing height sloped concentric rings. This relies on the varying mass of the screw types and consequently a different ability to reach a certain stage of the centrifuge at a constant rotational speed.
I just made this up… so if it works please get back to me and let me share in the credit ;-)
This setup (if it works) will work for all sorts of sorting… pun intended.
Option? It's a way of life! :P
Adam 🤘
Didnt Norm sort out the screws?
Is that the guy from Atherton, fairly close to Stanford?
As a software developer, this is what separates a senior with 5-10 years of experience from somebody with 20+ years.
Ed Catmull (PIXAR) - "Fail as fast as you can"
Adam, since you like Ted's channel, you might like SQUATCH253 as well. He's in the middle of restoring a 1930s Caterpillar, super detailed project, keeping the paintina intact but mechanically as close to zero hours as possible.
Failure is not an option, it's mandatory .
Failure is always an option when learning trying to be perfect straight away is setting yourself up for disappointment
An expert is simply someone who has failed more than others.
Adam, what do you think about the situation in Ukraine?
Well heck, if "job for hire" is an option, I have an item I would like made, but I don't have access to the machinery to do it XD hit me up Adam!
Please don't apologize for doing stuff off camera. Everyone needs their "Them" time, and we'd hate to see you start to view recording what you're doing as a burden that effects your enjoyment of what you do!