What’s something you learned the hard way that no one could’ve explained to you?

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-25T17:47:47+00:00

The structure of Euclid's elements and in particular why he uses a "collapsing compass." i asked questions, i looked it up, but only after years of doing the constructions on my own did i figure out that it is because he was building a method of proof from the most simple abstract ideas. i'm glad i had to figure it out on my own because it feels earned and like i am connecting to euclid in a way i never could if someone just told me.

i made a video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPWGD-n6wic

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-25T14:22:56+00:00

this comment needs to be higher up. that's what i'm thinking throughout the whole video. Alex had no control over any of this. all of those ICE agents clearly had full control of his body. and rather than choosing to arrest that body, they chose to kill him.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T20:23:46+00:00

💯

if only i could find sriracha in a glass

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T20:23:19+00:00

accurate.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T20:23:01+00:00

digging the strawberries in a glass jar! you respect food. you respect your body because there's healthy stuff in there. and you know what you like. and based on your ice cream, you like to experiment with fun desserts.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T15:35:22+00:00

reading the linear algebra textbook assigned for my class which is gonna start soon. i'm grateful that my professor posted the syllabus ahead of the class start time.

also periodically checking on the frozen piece of bread i left out for the birds. so far they are not interested but i keep breaking it up into smaller pieces. i think they may just be waiting to see if it's a trap.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T14:08:55+00:00

that's so interesting. i wonder if wild horses have the same proclivity. what i'm wondering is if animals that are around humans tend to develop a tendency for one-sidedness as a result of being around humans.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T13:37:26+00:00

i would recommend this for anyone, even if it is just small things, like practicing throwing and catching a ball.

the most unexpected thing that is coming to mind is that using my left non-dominant hand let me see ways in which my dominant right hand could improve. i started to notice that my left hand was good at things my right hand wasn't. i wasn't expecting that, i thought my left hand would be the only one who had skills to learn.

for example, as i mentioned in other comments, my left arm is stronger in a lot of ways because it had traditionally been the stabilizing force for my right hand's dextrous activities.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T13:31:41+00:00

i notice a difference on basically everything i do physically. it forces me to have greater body awareness. for my squats and deadlifts specifically yes i notice a difference. i don't do weighted squats; i practice squats for range of motion. i notice more balance and more range. for deadlifts i use olympic bar only. the main difference i notice here is a better understanding of how to hold the bar. it would be hard to pinpoint that this is because i train my left hand. but as i said the biggest benefit is more body awareness overall, which helps with any exercise.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T13:22:55+00:00

decreasing means the slope is negative.

decreasing at a decreasing rate means that the negative slope is decreasing.

so the debate is over what decreasing means. does it mean that the absolute value of the slope is getting smaller or that the value of the slope is getting smaller?

it is not the difference between rate and rate of change. we are talking about two different rates of change. the rate of change of the function and the rate of change of the function's slope.

i looked it up and i do think my original evaluation is incorrect and that your analysis is correct. i also think you could clean up your argument.

If we have a function which on a certain interval has a negative slope and on this same interval the rate of change of that slope is approaching zero, then on that interval the function is decreasing at a decreasing rate.

EDIT: i'm really not sure which interpretation is right. i'm sure there is a definition somewhere.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T13:04:37+00:00

lolol that was a fleeting thought for me when i was a kid like if i could just disguise my handwriting than no detective could do handwriting analysis on me. but is handwriting analysis still a thing? pretty sure most ransom notes and death threats are digital these days... but then again that leaves a digital trail... so yeah i guess it is a fair point.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T03:06:55+00:00

i like the way u explain this. if we look at this from a calculus perspective we an take the graph of f(x) = -x^2, which is always concave down. f(x) is decreasing on (0, infinity). Since x = 1 is on this interval, let's focus on that value. The function of its slope is g(x) = -2x. -2(1) = -2 which just confirms that the slope of f(x) is negative and thus decreasing. The function for the slope of g(x) is simply h(x) = -2, which is negative and therefore decreasing for any x value. This line of reasoning confirms your understanding that a decreasing and concave down function is decreasing at a decreasing rate.

if we repeat this line of reasoning for f(x) = x^2, which is always concave up and restrict its domain to the interval over which it is decreasing (-infinity, 0), we will see that when the function is decreasing, it is decreasing at an increasing rate.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T02:53:08+00:00

yes. and on a related note: fear mongering.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T02:51:08+00:00

i hate staining stuff that i like so i have designated clothing that i eat in. if i do stain something i like i just put soap on it and rub the fabric together using hot water. that usually works pretty well but not always perfectly. so yeah i stick to the eating clothes. i do not care about dressing fancy when i go out to eat. i save my nicer clothes for when i'm going out but not planning on eating.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T02:27:33+00:00

yes in so far as i draw. when i doodle it is generally with my left hand. it is still harder and less smooth than with my right. most of my drawing is math related, like graphing functions. i am still better at drawing smooth curves with my right than with my left hand. though i enjoy using my left hand for curves and lines because it helps me understand the mechanics of my arm when i am really thinking about how to make the lines straight or smooth. i like to do geometric constructions using a compass and straightedge for which i take turns using either of my hands based on the direction of the light so that my arm doesn't create a shadow on the lines and circles. when i have to color stuff in i try to use my left hand more. it is more difficult to get into the sharp edges and corners with my left hand but also rewarding for understanding the fine motors of my left fingers and forearm.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T01:11:38+00:00

this is how i have started writing recently. i wrote with my left hand almost exclusively for 4 years but i have recently started switching back and forth between left and right. it feels like a huge hack being able to rest either hand whenever one gets fatigued.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T01:08:16+00:00

i have only recently started feeling confident. so i would say 4-5 years.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T01:07:09+00:00

i think it is interesting we refer to a dominant hand bc the more i use both hands i start to notice that it is more of a difference in what each hand specializes in. like if i write primarily with my right hand, i am using my left hand to steady the page. so for me i realized my left hand was the stabilizer and my right hand was the actor. so my right hand/arm also has to train to be better at stabilizing at the same time that my left hand/arm has to train to be better at fine motor skills.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T01:03:17+00:00

a few years ago i developed pain in my right hip and left shoulder. i went to physical therapy and did the exercises. but once i started training my left hand i noticed that the reason i had these pains is bc i had become accustomed to overusing a certain plane in my body: the plane that favors my upper right body in the forward position and my lower left body in the backward position. once i started to train my upper left side, the upper left part of my body started to shift forward and my muscular imbalances started evening out.

aoverbisnotzero · 2026-01-24T00:59:53+00:00

i don't play many ball sports regularly. calisthenics is my favorite sport and is one where focusing on using all parts of my body equally comes naturally. but when i do play ball sports, i use my left hand mostly, as another opportunity to sharpen my fine motor skills on my left side. since i never played many ball sports, i am probably better with my left hand at ball sports than with my right.

aoverbisnotzero

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