Precision, accuracy, and a smattering of etymology. Chris and Jon discuss Simon Winchester’s latest book, The Perfectionists.
• The Perfectionists A new book that traces the impact that ever increasing levels of accuracy have had on our world, from the industrial revolution, through to the digital age
• Ned Ludd An English weaver, from whom the term “luddite” was derived
• Bokeh The blur that occurs when an object within a photograph does not fall inside the bounds of the lens’s depth of field
• Leica The camera division of Germany’s Leica Microsystems
• The Essentials of Precision Timekeeping A talk delivered by Jack Forster at the Horological Society of New York in early 2018
• Bullseye Diagram A visual depiction of the distinction between accuracy & precision, from Winchester’s The Perfectionists, where A is accurate, B is precise, C is neither, & D
is moderately precise & accurate
• History of the Steam Engine A brief history of steam power during the Industrial Revolution
• Watt Engine Friend of the show, Rich Loen, standing in front of a Watt Steam Engine
• John Wilkinson An industrialist who helped James Watt refine the Watt Steam Engine
• Henry Maudslay An incredibly talented machinist, whose work helped usher in the age of industrialization
• Joseph Bramah A renowned locksmith & inventor
• Off Hours Episode 21 The episode on multi lead threading, where we first mentioned Bramah & Maudslay