Optimization: Adjusting something to reach its best state for a specific purpose. We often think that the fastest and strongest options are the best. The fastest way down a slope isn’t a straight line, but a parabola that naturally connects high and low points. A sniper can cause more lethal wounds at 400 meters than at 200 meters. Although the bullet travels faster at 200 meters, the wound size isn’t as large, and at 400 meters, the slower-moving bullet over a longer distance causes more friction as it passes through the wound, resulting in more severe injuries. In every situation, there is an optimal choice suited to the goal. Trial and error are useful for finding this optimization. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
There is a country of 607 islands in the West Pacific, Micronesia. One of the islands, “Yap Islands,” used limestone as a currency. The monetary unit is “fei”. Big stones, oh no, big money, 3.6 meters in diameter and weighed 3.5 tons. The bigger and heavier is a more expensive price, because of the harder the carving. The peculiar thing was that when the people moved the stone for trading, they directly moved it with a canoe, and no one marked the money after the transaction. In the meantime, a rich man had to deal with someone and he met the storm while carrying the stone money in a canoe. Securing his survival, he had to throw his money out of the canoe into the water. When he met the counterparty with an empty hand, no sooner did they confirm the force majeure case than the counterparty confirmed that the villagers additionally recognized the value of the sunk money in the water and approved the transaction. Then, the existence of the sunk stone money was recorded on a wooden board,...