How to hide things/Core Memory/Tourist Map of Literature

Recomendo - issue #473

How to hide things

The Big Book of Secret Hiding Places, published in 1987, is an illustrated guide to concealing things in clever hiding places. It covers methods for concealing items in buildings, vehicles, and on the body. Even if you don’t need to hide anything (or smuggle it across a border), it makes for fascinating reading. — MF

Tech frontiers podcast

A new podcast I am finding value in is Core Memory by Ashlee Vance. Vance sniffs around Silicon Valley talking to the crazy ones on the bleeding edge of tech, the mavericks with outlandish ideas, and the fast-talking renegades trying to do the impossible, plus the usual mix of over-confident nerds with grandiose visions. I like it because it keeps me on my toes. — KK

The Tourist Map of Literature

The Literature-Map is a data-art tool that helps you discover new authors. Just type in a writer you love, and it generates a visual map of related authors based on readers’ tastes—writers clustered together have a shared fanbase. It’s a fun way to expand your literary universe. — CD

Understanding electricity

I’ve been really enjoying an obscure book about the discovery/invention of electricity. I was reading it partly because I think there is an analogy to the discovery/invention of AI, in that the smartest people alive and working on it (like Newton) were totally wrong about what it was. Faraday, Maxwell, and the Electromagnetic Field recounts the biographical story of the two main investigators and how they kept changing their ideas to meet new evidence. Their insights made me believe that Maxwell was more of a leapfrogging genius than Einstein, a not uncommon view among many physicists. Electromagnetic fields are so strange and counterintuitive, that by following these pioneers’ experiments and explanations, I came away thinking I understand electricity even less than I did when I started. I mean in the late 1800s they figured out the electrical energy does not flow inside a wire as everyone today thinks it does. Rather the energy is carried along outside by waves in the field that surrounds the wire. (I think we are equally misunderstanding intelligence of all types.) In the book there is exciting science, colorfully eccentric characters, and the lessons of widening one’s imagination to see what has not been seen before. — KK

Five weekly tips on allyship

If you’re interested in weekly suggestions for making your workplace more inclusive, Karen Catlin’s Better Allies newsletter delivers five actionable ideas in each issue. Topics range from accessibility and addressing bias, to tips on fostering allyship. It’s concise, clear, and never pushy or preachy—a great resource for anyone looking to build more inclusive habits at work. — CD

Large ice cubes

Our freezer doesn’t make ice, so I use ice cube trays instead. The ones I have make 2-inch cubes (a little over 4 ounces), which is perfect for keeping cocktails cold for a long time. They’re made from flexible silicone and come with a lid. Some people even use them for baking. Rycore sells the trays as a 2-pack for $21. — MF

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Recomendo is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper and Book Freak.