Kevin Simler

even with accidental inventions, the inventor has to have the presence of mind to *recognize* that they've invented something. this requires an attentiveness that isn't very commonhttps://twitter.com/visakanv/status/1101843921968062470 …

Fleming noticing penicillin rather than throwing away the contaminated sample

yeah the default response to failure IMO is usually to disregard it and move on, especially when you're tasked with doing something, have a goal, a target, time pressure and so on. it takes a certain cheeky, stubborn naughtiness to stop to examine an interesting failure

I think we’re on the verge of exploring the personality traits of discoverers vs personality traits of perfecters

Asking ‘Is it harder to fly or swim?’ and the related question ‘Which deserves more respect, flying or swimming?’ to determine if someone is a bird or a fish

to batter this analogy further, sometimes there are extremely valuable artifacts either floating in the sky or buried at sea, and whoever is able to grab it and return it to humanity will be celebrated tremendously; but it's not *them*, ykwim? it's the context, it's everything

Love the idea that fish leave artifacts for birds, and vice versa