‽istis ponders jigsaws, not puzzling (weekending January 21st
2023)
This week ‽istis has wondered at and about:
‽ the hazard of allowing a ‘single line of failure’[i]
where no checks and balances, mitigations or backups may be in place and an
entire system breaks down; the dangers that may follow
‽ the life and works of Ronald Blythe who died on January 14th
at 100 years’ old[ii]; especially wondering how
on earth ‽istis could get to more than half that age and not have heard of RB,
RB’s ‘Church Times’ contributions and other writings - but then notices a
volume in the window of a local bookshop and sets out to remedy the error
But has also pondered jigsaw puzzles. The 20 pieces wonderfully
fine-motorskilled in to ‘Frozen’ characters by under three-year old hands and
mind (especially as there were no straight edges!); the 1000 pieces facing two considerably-over-three-year
olds.
For the over-three-year-olds the problems started pretty much
straight away – essentially a matter of differing methods. If you also jigsaw
puzzle (oh those nouns posing as verbs!), are you a ‘sorter’ - or a ‘placer’ (oh
those verbs posing as nouns)? It seems that there could be at least three
points of variation:
i) Selection: sifting carefully from the whole – v – picking up a random
handful
ii) Reference to the picture: initially pretty much none at all –
v – careful scrutiny from the outset to assist with placing
ii) Placing: first in to bowls based on colour - v – straight on to the board as close as
possible to the expected final place (after close examination of each piece one
at a time, followed by the careful scrutiny of the picture to help determine
appropriate orientation and required location)
And ‽istis wonders:
·
perhaps there is a metaphor to be extruded - and, if
so, for what?
·
possibly there may be a challenging outcome research
project to pursue – just how might one evaluate the relative impact and effectiveness
of each method?
·
maybe the chosen method provides deep insight into the
nature, character, thoughts, feelings and behaviours of each person and provides
a clue as to their past, present or future approach to life in other situations?
Yet, this week, ‽istis’ main ‘takeaway’ is either the bought-in
meal and accompanying beverage of choice to be enjoyed while trying to complete
a jigsaw puzzle – or – that, whilst there may be many avenues to wander down, to
explore, analyse wonder and ponder, well just perhaps, possibly, maybe an
evening or two’s jigsaw puzzling could simply be one of those precious ‘always
time for a drink with friends’ moments around the 'bigger' stuff of life[iii]‽
Perhaps, possibly, maybe the most important process is the doing
together, working to a common goal, accommodating different approaches without
seeking to justify or establish what is ‘better’ - or even, heaven forbid,
ponder too deeply.
Darn it, just when ‽istis was seeking to avoid a moral to the
story…
© ‽istis
NB: further reflections and comments linked to this week’s theme and
past blog entries to be found on Twitter: replies, retweets (which don’t
necessarily indicate approval, sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’:
@Pistis_wonders. ‘Follows’ and respectful comment and dialogue welcome...
[i]
References include: https://www.mha-it.com/2018/10/17/single-points-of-failure/ SPOF: ‘a person, facility, piece of
equipment, application, or another resource for which there is no redundancy in
place. If such a resource goes down, any system or process of which it is an
essential part will come to a halt.’
[ii]
References and many obituaries include: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jan/15/ronald-blythe-obituary
[iii] https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=783553756136100
c. 1’57” in to the video clip
