Breaking down something simple: Tying your shoes

We all go through life thinking that we know things. All of us know how to tie our shoelaces. It's something that you learn before kindergarten.But what is the right way of doing it?I asked that question a year or so ago after getting fascinated with knots. Knots themselves are cool. There are literally hundreds of knots some good, some bad. Some common, some special purpose.I had a way of tying my shoes that wound up making a slippery knot that kept untying itself. I never gave it much thought until I started looking at knot tying. Knots are not supposed to just loosen on their own. Something was wrong.I asked around at work to watch people tie their shoes. Nearly everyone had a different technique. I tuned myself into seeing if some people re-tie their shoes more often than others. Yes. Why?So I asked the google.One of the sites presented a confusing looking knot that Ian Fieggen called the Ian Knot. It even hinted at why some knots untie themselves -- because they are unbalanced.So I spent a Saturday learning how to tie my shoes all anew.En looked at me funny.A WTF moment.But now my shoes don't get untied. And I can tie them twice as fast as before.This comes down to the simple point: always be open to learning. Even more, seek out knowledge. Even obscure, seemingly senseless information.Why?Most people learn something once than go on. Don't stop there. Learn it better.It keeps your brain nimble.

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Antipattern: Testing, documentation, process, trust