Inspired by some tech bro saying their algorithm found this writing so awful it couldn't process it. I decided to have a read. It's wonderful. Well written and interesting.
What's more. It made me think about door knobs and handles. Everywhere I've ever lived has had handles. To the point I've always thought lever style door handles were the norm. Door knobs are rare. So rare, that at a friend's house recently. I couldn't work out how to open the front door...
Cos the square knob on it didn't scream "turn me" just "pull". What makes this design blunder even more severe, is that the home I was visiting is rented out only to people over 65. Specifically for retired people. You know. People with good grip strength, and very little risk of arthritis...
I had to be shown how to open the front door to leave the building. I am so used to lever type door handles. The idea of a door knob being the norm makes zero logical sense to me. Thank you @WeirdWriter
@quixoticgeek
The only reason to have a door knob is if your cat has figured out how to use the handle on the bathroom door.
@cstross If it doesn't have a latch the cat will definitely get in
@quixoticgeek @WeirdWriter In my country, or at least in the greater region, handles are the norm. If there is a knob on the door, it is usually fixed so you need a key to open the door, or at least it tries to give that expression.
When I came to the USA (NYC), I was baffled by the omnipresence of door knobs. How do I open the door when my hands are full? I can open a door with a handle with my elbow, or even with my hip. Maybe even pull it closed with my elbow. Try that with a knob.
@quixoticgeek This is beautifully written. Thank you.
It does not change the point but in bear country, wildlife people recommend replacing lever door handles with knobs to reduce the risk of bear break-ins. Just for the external door. If a bear does manage to break in (if they really want to they'll just break the door down), it doesn't matter whether internal doorknobs are lever or not as the bear is in the house.
@quixoticgeek I recall as a child watching american movies, and when someone wanted to flee a room because of whatever danger was there, they'd run to the door and then perform this inexplicable ritual of doing essentially nothing much with that doorknob except for screaming, banging the door, and some trying to shake the doorknob.
A closed door with a doorknob is not very cineastic at all! With a proper handle, it's very clear when a door is locked: the lever is down, lots of pulling or pushing force is applied, and yet the darn thing won't open.
A handle is also easy to change from "everyone can use it" to "children can't use it" - just loosen the lock-screw, make the handle point up vertically, tighten the lock-screw and voilá, small children (and uninspired people) are forever flummoxed.
The doorknob has one big advantage for Canadians. Just like elderly people with arthritis, bears cannot operate them. https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2014/04/19/knobless-oblige
Are we talking about door handles that open when you rotate them in a clock/counterclockwise fashion, or the kind that pull or push open?
@quixoticgeek what a beautiful text with beautiful points and ideas.
And so that guy's algorithm that it falls apart in the face of good writing? How ironic.
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