Practical things you just don’t understand

In light of @nbt’s thread on replacing his gas hob, it got me thinking about how little I understand electrics and electronics. I know that there are words like ‘amps’, ‘watts’, and ‘volts’, but I don’t know what they are, what the difference is between them, or anything else about electricity except that it is very uncomfortable when you get a shock.

I consider myself pretty mechanically knowledgeable, and while I am terrible with building things, I can manage and at least understand the process. Plumbing? I get it and will even try my hand at it. But electrics? Nothing.

Yet the STW massif seems pretty adept across a range of fields.

What practical things confound you?

Bicycle maintenance

Other people.

Yeah I’m with you on electrics…I get 12v DC car electrics (as a former landie owner, almost essential), but AC and house electrics are a complete mystery.  Otherwise, I think I’m pretty practical and logical and will try my hand at lots of DIY stuff.

Yeh electrics I’m no good at (I rewired my van but had help from a sparky mate to make sure I didn’t do anything drastically wrong). I can wire a plug and a light fitting etc fine but anything more and nope. I’m totally colour blind so that doesn’t help when I’m looking at wires and trying to figure out whats what – shouting at the kids “Ozzy, what colour is this wire?” etc.

bowline knot. just cannot retain the knowledge to tie one.

Bowlines are easy.

Kicking footballs in the correct direction…

The scientific concepts of time travel as explained in films.

My biggest one is throwing stuff. Just an overarm throw of a tennis ball for a dog, or skimming a stone for example. It is quite comical to watch; I just don’t have the proprioception to throw something over arm or get that “snap” of my wrist and elbow to fling stuff with power and distance. When I do it, it looks like my skeleton has disappeared suddenly, and whatever the object is flies off at 45 degrees to the intended direction. Or I don’t let go in time, and the object just gets absolutely tw**ted into the ground a metre in front of me.

I suffer with tennis too for this reason…but strangely I was alright at passing in rugby with two hands. As long as my 10 was to my left, not my right.

Electrics are a dark art to me too…struggled in school and struggle now. My FIL is trying to encourage me to wire up electrics to my shed myself, but I don’t have a clue how to approach it (may make a separate post for advice!). Weirdly I seem to have a good natural aptitude for plumbing and can sort plumbing jobs around the house fairly easily, but I suppose that doesn’t come with the risk of a fire or death.

I really struggled to understand bottom brackets and cranks until I built up my own bike.

I still struggle to understand why every single bottom bracket brand needs it’s own proprietary tool.

If you can understand plumbing you can understand basic electricity

Volts is pressure

Amps/Current is flow

Ohms/resistance is narrowness of pipe.

So the more pressure you apply to a given diameter pipe – more water flows through it. For a given pressure, decrease the diam of pipe and less will flow through it. etc.

Gardening. I understand broadly how to do it, I just don’t understand how anyone derives any pleasure from doing it.

Gardening. I understand broadly how to do it, I just don’t understand how anyone derives any pleasure from doing it.

I can’t  understand anyone who can’t generate pleasure from it! There is even research that suggests fingering earth is actually extremely good for the mental health.

There is even research that suggests fingering earth is actually extremely good for the mental health….

And you don’t even need the word “earth” in that sentence.

Spelling.

Electrics +1.
Basic plug and wire stuff OK. Anything beyond that is invisible magic with a good chance of death if not done right.

Yup,as Josh says,it’s less about the gardening and all about time outside (and the fingering earth).

I even do weeding by hand.🙃👍

Meanwhile…

Caving for pleasure😲

It’s electrics for me too.
I’ll have a go to a certain extent but I think there’s always that nagging feeling that getting it wrong can kill someone, which might be a bit of a snag.

If you can understand plumbing you can understand basic electricity

Volts is pressure

Amps/Current is flow

Ohms/resistance is narrowness of pipe.

So the more pressure you apply to a given diameter pipe – more water flows through it. For a given pressure, decrease the diam of pipe and less will flow through it. etc.

Great explanation thanks.

*Goes off to rewire house.

How to neatly fold a fitted bed sheet.

Rock climbing.

Diametric opposite of caving, which also, understand I not.

I can’t  understand anyone who can’t generate pleasure from it

Gardening is just outdoor housework.

kayak23

I’ll have a go to a certain extent but I think there’s always that nagging feeling that getting it wrong can kill someone, which might be a bit of a snag.

I used to hang around with a few electricians, when they were bored they’d set up a live circuit and bet on who could hold on to it the longest

citizenlee
How to neatly fold a fitted bed sheet.

I was with you, but there’s an easy method on youtube, and it actually works.

Except electricery isn’t like water because it alternates direction?

“I still struggle to understand why every single bottom bracket brand needs it’s own proprietary tool.”

Its own. No apostrophe needed. There are many many things I don’t understand but this I do.

@honourablegeorge (sorry, I’ve forgot how to quote on here)

I never thought to look on YouTube, I just accepted that I’d always be shit at it. Might have to check it out and surprise my girlfriend 😀

Differentials

https://youtu.be/yYAw79386WI?si=joTBbLP0dNRGsw3t

Wallpapering. I’m both no good at it nor do I wish to learn. I’d rather fix things than hide them.

Religion. See wallpapering.

On the electrics front, a little knowledge is definitely a dangerous thing….

As a kid my dad taught me to wire a plug at an early age, but not much else connected. I was fed up spending loads of money on batteries for my Walkman so I cut a 1m length of electrical cord, wired it beautifully to the plug.

I then twisted all the copper wires from the other end together,  shoved them in the adapter socket on the Walkman and switched on the plug…

Goodness, I never knew things could escalate so quickly 🤣😄

Kicking footballs in the correct direction…

I’m very vocal to others about the fact i can’t kick a ball. I mean, I can launch a toe punt in ‘a direction’, but that’s it.
Which is odd, cos i’m quite sporty otherwise.

I love learning about how cars work, and really do understand practically EVERYTHING about them. Apart from fluid torque converters (like on the Kournisegg). I’ve watched countless YouTube vids. Still don’t get it.

DrP

Except electricery isn’t like water because it alternates direction?

You could still do useful work with water moving to and fro very fast if you wanted to – but you would need to use the right components.  Actually electricity is just the same.  but a DC electric motor in an AC circuit and it won’t work.

How air conditioning and heat pumps actually work. I’ve read up on them and still don’t totally get it.

On the gardening front, I used to agree but since actually having my own garden and lawn etc. and being firmly middle aged, I really enjoy it now.

Gardening. I understand broadly how to do it, I just don’t understand how anyone derives any pleasure from doing it.

See also allotments.

Cosplaying as a medieval subsistence tenant farmer?  How am I supposed to derive pleasure from back crippling work to produce carrots that I can buy for 18p* a bag in Tesco.

*I’m too bougie to know the price of carrots post brexit, probably not 18p anymore.

Rock climbing.

Diametric opposite of caving, which also, understand I not.

I have no issue with ropes and heights although I’ve never been up anything higher than an indoor wall, but potholing gives me the heebie jeebies even before I watched The Descent or reading about the guy who eventually died of a heart attach after getting wedged down a hole headfirst hundreds of feet below the ground.

+1 on gardening.

I have no interest in it and I’m no good at it. Our back yard has a couple of flower beds and %^&*ing ivy, if I had my way I’d take a flamethrower to the lot.

It’s odd really, I come from a long line of outdoorsy types.  My first home was a dairy farm, when they sold up my grandad went on to be a gardener.  But it’s a gene that passed me by, if I want to commune with nature I’ll go for a walk/ride in the countryside.

A quick scan of all the new bike day pics could have told us nobody ‘got’ gardening…

I’m very vocal to others about the fact i can’t kick a ball. I mean, I can launch a toe punt in ‘a direction’, but that’s it.

I weirdly cannot kick a round ball straight, but am fine with an egg shaped one…

With gardening, i have no interest unless i can eat it, but love having a greenhouse and a few veg beds, homegrown veg just actually tastes of something, especially things like tomatoes, lettuce etc.

A quick scan of all the new bike day pics could have told us nobody ‘got’ gardening…

I’ve spent 8 years slowly concreting it over so I don’t have to garden 😂

That sounds worse than it is, there’s probably more biodiversity than there was and it’s actually a useable space now.

I have to turn my bike upside down to get the back wheel in 🥴

bowline knot. just cannot retain the knowledge to tie one.

Have you seen Jaws?

“rabbit comes out the hole.. round the tree.. back in the hole – done” (just make the ‘hole’ loop the right way)

I struggle with electronics. Either a black box of ‘no idea’ or a system where I can’t see what’s happening so I struggle to get my head round it until wires are marked/labelled, checked and I have that bomb diffuser feeling moment. I did have a minor mains shock once when much younger so I’m still wary.

And these brands want me to put all that stuff on my bike .. nope. Dynamo stuff maybe but that’s it.

If you can understand plumbing you can understand basic electricity

Volts is pressure

Amps/Current is flow

Ohms/resistance is narrowness of pipe.

So the more pressure you apply to a given diameter pipe – more water flows through it. For a given pressure, decrease the diam of pipe and less will flow through it. etc.

See I get all this, but actually applying it to the real world is where it falls down for me. I still have no idea why some things are measured in watts, volts or whatever. Like ok, this thing is 50volts.  Great, why do I need to know the ‘pressure’ of electricity in this thing but not the amps or the ohms? It all boggles my mind.