"Oh, I uh, thought it just...happened."
December 8, 2010 2:20 AM Subscribe
What are some examples of processes which many people assume happen automatically (automagically?), but which actually involve a lot of skilled human intervention and/or planning?
(By way of example, in the days of analogue photographic printing, many customers believed their photos were printed exactly as taken. In fact, a skilled human printer would adjust the density and colour balance of every shot.)
(By way of example, in the days of analogue photographic printing, many customers believed their photos were printed exactly as taken. In fact, a skilled human printer would adjust the density and colour balance of every shot.)
"My three year old could have painted that."
posted by Kattullus at 2:54 AM on December 8, 2010 [11 favorites]
posted by Kattullus at 2:54 AM on December 8, 2010 [11 favorites]
just some ideas with no evidence whatsoever:
* luggage handling from airport to airport
* airplane controllers handling take-offs and landings
* the whole concept of cell-switching which made mobile phones possible (or even older, the whole concept of using operators as middlemen for a successful phone connection)
posted by alchemist at 2:56 AM on December 8, 2010
* luggage handling from airport to airport
* airplane controllers handling take-offs and landings
* the whole concept of cell-switching which made mobile phones possible (or even older, the whole concept of using operators as middlemen for a successful phone connection)
posted by alchemist at 2:56 AM on December 8, 2010
Best answer: I'm reliably informed that back in the day, lastminute.com's back end was very manual. The booking process for holidays involved a fax spitting out and basically amounted to a spiffy front end on a more traditional travel agent.
A lot of internet retail involves real people picking real products and packing them. For example, online grocery deliveries.
Most people don't understand how meat gets from cow or pig to market. Animals are still killed and butchered manually. There are some robotic meat cutters but it is not the norm.
I was watching a TV program this week and it showed a production line for cookies. The business of actually sorting them down to the right number for the packet fell to humans. I don't think this is the case everywhere, but this was a large, high capacity factory and that surprised me.
posted by MuffinMan at 3:09 AM on December 8, 2010
A lot of internet retail involves real people picking real products and packing them. For example, online grocery deliveries.
Most people don't understand how meat gets from cow or pig to market. Animals are still killed and butchered manually. There are some robotic meat cutters but it is not the norm.
I was watching a TV program this week and it showed a production line for cookies. The business of actually sorting them down to the right number for the packet fell to humans. I don't think this is the case everywhere, but this was a large, high capacity factory and that surprised me.
posted by MuffinMan at 3:09 AM on December 8, 2010
Event management, which people often seem to assume requires no time and no money.
I've heard people express surprise that software is written by people and doesn't just "happen" somehow.
Project management. Don't the people working on the project just do their jobs properly?
posted by emilyw at 3:13 AM on December 8, 2010 [3 favorites]
I've heard people express surprise that software is written by people and doesn't just "happen" somehow.
Project management. Don't the people working on the project just do their jobs properly?
posted by emilyw at 3:13 AM on December 8, 2010 [3 favorites]
"I thought a computer just wrote their own instruction books!"
posted by tilde at 3:18 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by tilde at 3:18 AM on December 8, 2010
Santa!
posted by SNWidget at 3:51 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by SNWidget at 3:51 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Event management, which people often seem to assume requires no time and no money.
Can I say amen? You show up at the starting line of your marathon or century ride and it's just there. I was out on the street at 4 am building the starting line, throwing fences and hanging signs.
posted by fixedgear at 3:52 AM on December 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
Can I say amen? You show up at the starting line of your marathon or century ride and it's just there. I was out on the street at 4 am building the starting line, throwing fences and hanging signs.
posted by fixedgear at 3:52 AM on December 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I think most people would point to their own job and say that others don't appreciate how much work goes into it. "Most things happen automatically, except for my work!"
Specifics that come to mind are things that we are taught on a basic level in school (writing and music, for example) and things that are easier to dabble in with the advent of software and other tools priced and marketed for the amateur (for example, graphic design and photography).
Things that involve massive numbers of people are also seen as "automatic" in that people do not understand the full scope of work and job specialization. For example, city planning, road construction, the gas in your tank or natural gas in your home, delivery of your FedEx package, milk at the store... all very complex systems, but seen as a park, road, gas, package, or consumable that just appeared.
posted by Houstonian at 3:55 AM on December 8, 2010
Specifics that come to mind are things that we are taught on a basic level in school (writing and music, for example) and things that are easier to dabble in with the advent of software and other tools priced and marketed for the amateur (for example, graphic design and photography).
Things that involve massive numbers of people are also seen as "automatic" in that people do not understand the full scope of work and job specialization. For example, city planning, road construction, the gas in your tank or natural gas in your home, delivery of your FedEx package, milk at the store... all very complex systems, but seen as a park, road, gas, package, or consumable that just appeared.
posted by Houstonian at 3:55 AM on December 8, 2010
Any page on the internet.
Non geeks don't realise *everything* starts as code (well it all starts as binary but you get my drift). Most people seem to assume "building a website" is something "anyone" can do.
posted by Faintdreams at 3:59 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Non geeks don't realise *everything* starts as code (well it all starts as binary but you get my drift). Most people seem to assume "building a website" is something "anyone" can do.
posted by Faintdreams at 3:59 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
The sewer system. Incredible work goes into keeping sewage systems working properly, but people never think about it.
posted by Kattullus at 4:09 AM on December 8, 2010 [6 favorites]
posted by Kattullus at 4:09 AM on December 8, 2010 [6 favorites]
Best answer: Quite a few grooming practices can take a lot of time and dedication, with barely noticeable results. I didn't always have two separate eyebrows.
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:11 AM on December 8, 2010 [10 favorites]
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:11 AM on December 8, 2010 [10 favorites]
The computer sitting on your desk at work.
posted by majortom1981 at 4:37 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by majortom1981 at 4:37 AM on December 8, 2010
Municipal water and sewage; most mid-sized towns have, effectively, two factories somewhere nearby that process what comes in and processes what goes out, so that nobody drinks anything contaminated.
posted by AzraelBrown at 4:56 AM on December 8, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by AzraelBrown at 4:56 AM on December 8, 2010 [3 favorites]
Mapping custom datasets. Currently I'm turning a substantial amount of data (read - the files started in the terabytes range) and cramming into a 10 map slides (maybe 15 megs of total data before compression). When this is done, I am positive people will want to know why our map doesn't work like Google Maps.
I have some mad props for MapQuest and Google right now, given that they know where the 7-11 is down the street as well as how to get between there and Copley Square.
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:56 AM on December 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
I have some mad props for MapQuest and Google right now, given that they know where the 7-11 is down the street as well as how to get between there and Copley Square.
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:56 AM on December 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
When I was at my last job, I was explaining to someone at a party or something what I did for a living (designing avionics) and this person was just absolutely floored that people actually built these things. I think she thought they were hatched from eggs or something.
posted by backseatpilot at 4:57 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by backseatpilot at 4:57 AM on December 8, 2010
Writing (and especially publishing) books.
posted by mothershock at 5:02 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by mothershock at 5:02 AM on December 8, 2010
Pretty much anything requiring an artist/creative. Art, writing, music...It all just magically happens. Quickly. And it's so much fun you can't possibly want money for it.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:13 AM on December 8, 2010 [5 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 5:13 AM on December 8, 2010 [5 favorites]
The sizes and shapes of every single item on every single shelf in every single aisle of your local supermarket were purposefully, deliberately chosen.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:39 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:39 AM on December 8, 2010
Oh yeah, and all supermarket meat. Meat in the supermarket is a total abstraction.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:40 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:40 AM on December 8, 2010
Extend that to everything you can purchase. Clothes, shoes, housewares. It's human nature to register the object but give not one thought to how it came to be.
In the western world we're astonishingly underappreciative of the increase in quality of life due to understanding of germ theory, the power of vaccinations, and decades of public health efforts. Not to mention nutrition.
And food safety legislation. The terrible tragedy in China in the past few years due to adulteration of diluted milk with melamine is unthinkable in the US in this day and age--but wouldn't have been such a shock to people in urban centers in the US, say, 125 years ago.
posted by Sublimity at 5:49 AM on December 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
In the western world we're astonishingly underappreciative of the increase in quality of life due to understanding of germ theory, the power of vaccinations, and decades of public health efforts. Not to mention nutrition.
And food safety legislation. The terrible tragedy in China in the past few years due to adulteration of diluted milk with melamine is unthinkable in the US in this day and age--but wouldn't have been such a shock to people in urban centers in the US, say, 125 years ago.
posted by Sublimity at 5:49 AM on December 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
Where I live no one knows what landscape architects do. Or how much work goes into planning outdoor spaces. Everyone knows about architects, but every time I tell someone I'm a landscape architect I have to explain that I'm not a landscaper/installer, a contractor, or a horticulturist (though you do have to know all of those things).
Well-designed outdoor spaces are completely taken for granted. They obviously just spring up between the buildings. (Never mind how much work goes into building location...)
posted by Kronur at 5:56 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Well-designed outdoor spaces are completely taken for granted. They obviously just spring up between the buildings. (Never mind how much work goes into building location...)
posted by Kronur at 5:56 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Editing. *NOT* as simple as just grammar/spell-checking a page. Especially when there's facts involved.
posted by Ys at 6:04 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by Ys at 6:04 AM on December 8, 2010
Best answer: Medical billing. I used to think you went to the doctor and you got a bill. Now that I work in the industry I'm amazed at how many people (and various computer systems) are involved in figuring out just what you and your insurance company have to pay. I support a large application that basically exists to spot problems made by these people before the problems get held up by insurance companies. It's insane how much is involved. Insane.
posted by bondcliff at 6:04 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by bondcliff at 6:04 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Waste disposal management. People generally get that they put their bin out, the truck comes, and everything heads off to the dump. But they don't always get the finer detail. In bigger cities there is a phenomenally complicated management structure behind it all - there are transport and logistics factors to be worked out, there are scheduling and traffic problems, short and long term environmental impact issues, waste sorting processes, and so on.
posted by Ahab at 6:12 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by Ahab at 6:12 AM on December 8, 2010
Relationships?
posted by ropeladder at 6:26 AM on December 8, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by ropeladder at 6:26 AM on December 8, 2010 [4 favorites]
Fantastic quote from the documentary on Helvetica: one of the type designers interviewed explained his work to a layman and was asked "Is that legal?"
posted by qbject at 6:45 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by qbject at 6:45 AM on December 8, 2010
"Even I don't look like Cindy Crawford in the morning." -- Cindy Crawford.
posted by keener_sounds at 6:48 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by keener_sounds at 6:48 AM on December 8, 2010
I think the whole point of some things is to help people forget that there was a process in their development. A lot of events and sites have operations managers. Generally, if you're aware that your operations manager exists, they've messed something up.
posted by jander03 at 6:51 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by jander03 at 6:51 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
- Graphic Design ("you can just whip that up on your fancy computer, right?")
- Photography ("If I had a camera as nice as yours, I could take great pictures too!")
- Web Development
- Software Development
- Automobile Repair ("You charged me $400 in labor to install a $5 part?!" The reality is that if you attempted to do the job yourself, you'd likely be begging someone to take your $400 to finish the job for you)
posted by teriyaki_tornado at 7:00 AM on December 8, 2010
- Photography ("If I had a camera as nice as yours, I could take great pictures too!")
- Web Development
- Software Development
- Automobile Repair ("You charged me $400 in labor to install a $5 part?!" The reality is that if you attempted to do the job yourself, you'd likely be begging someone to take your $400 to finish the job for you)
posted by teriyaki_tornado at 7:00 AM on December 8, 2010
The makeup, lighting and photography involved in any magazine shoot.
posted by peacheater at 7:03 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by peacheater at 7:03 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Phone trees (speech and touch-tone). People have no idea what a lot of effort goes into designing something that rarely rises above crappy.
posted by Dragonness at 7:12 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Dragonness at 7:12 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Designing, operating, financing, and maintaining your transportation system.
posted by millipede at 7:14 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by millipede at 7:14 AM on December 8, 2010
My own job, translating: "Could you type this up in English for me?"
Coding. My wife's boss (who commissioned a custom CMS for his business) seems to think it's a matter of dragging icons around on a screen or something.
posted by adamrice at 7:19 AM on December 8, 2010
Coding. My wife's boss (who commissioned a custom CMS for his business) seems to think it's a matter of dragging icons around on a screen or something.
posted by adamrice at 7:19 AM on December 8, 2010
The Congressional Record, written, edited, typeset, printed, and distributed in print and on line within hours of the closing of the session. I'm part of the process when some things go wrong, and it amazes me how infrequently something goes wrong.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:28 AM on December 8, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:28 AM on December 8, 2010 [3 favorites]
I am an electrician. Many people think that the electrical system in there house just happens. Some people have no idea what is involved, and refuse to accept certain answers.
I can not tell you how many times I have been in a situation like: What do you mean you can't put a switch here? - Well that is an exterior block wall, and the blocks are poured solid right there, unless we run conduit down your wall, you can't have a switch there. - I thought you guys were supposed to be really good, obviously I need another electrician.
There are many variations of this. But, I am telling you, there are many times when home-owners refuse to accept the some things are not possible to do electrically (at least, not possible with out major costs and/or un-sightly conduit).
We always say that the vast majority of home-owners, the only thing that they see is that you swept up after the job, and that you hung the new ceiling fan perfectly level. They do not see, they do not understand, the hour you spent in the attic running new wire, cutting in a fan box, making a splice in junction box, etc. All they see is the finished fan, and everything else is magic.
We have actually had people tell us that we were goofing off in the attic, just running the clock up, because they have no idea why we would be in the attic for hour just to hang a new fan.
posted by Flood at 7:29 AM on December 8, 2010 [5 favorites]
I can not tell you how many times I have been in a situation like: What do you mean you can't put a switch here? - Well that is an exterior block wall, and the blocks are poured solid right there, unless we run conduit down your wall, you can't have a switch there. - I thought you guys were supposed to be really good, obviously I need another electrician.
There are many variations of this. But, I am telling you, there are many times when home-owners refuse to accept the some things are not possible to do electrically (at least, not possible with out major costs and/or un-sightly conduit).
We always say that the vast majority of home-owners, the only thing that they see is that you swept up after the job, and that you hung the new ceiling fan perfectly level. They do not see, they do not understand, the hour you spent in the attic running new wire, cutting in a fan box, making a splice in junction box, etc. All they see is the finished fan, and everything else is magic.
We have actually had people tell us that we were goofing off in the attic, just running the clock up, because they have no idea why we would be in the attic for hour just to hang a new fan.
posted by Flood at 7:29 AM on December 8, 2010 [5 favorites]
Some underemployed spouses or SOs think that their money just magically comes out of nowhere, when in fact it's their partner working their ass off to make the money.
posted by Melismata at 7:51 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by Melismata at 7:51 AM on December 8, 2010
Some underemployed spouses or SOs think that their money just magically comes out of nowhere, when in fact it's their partner working their ass off to make the money.
As one of those underemployed SOs (my job is half-time), I think the full-time working spouse has no idea how much work goes into keeping a house clean, groceries in the fridge, laundry washed/folded/put away, car washed and maintained, bills paid, money invested, cat fed, household supplies purchased, etc. etc.
posted by JenMarie at 8:11 AM on December 8, 2010 [15 favorites]
As one of those underemployed SOs (my job is half-time), I think the full-time working spouse has no idea how much work goes into keeping a house clean, groceries in the fridge, laundry washed/folded/put away, car washed and maintained, bills paid, money invested, cat fed, household supplies purchased, etc. etc.
posted by JenMarie at 8:11 AM on December 8, 2010 [15 favorites]
There's very little appreciation outside education for how much work goes into planning and executing appropriate curriculum. But boy howdy do people like to get up at school board meetings and inform us that "we just need to teach things [that fit my political views|the way they were taught when I was young|that really excite the kids and then they'll WANT to learn], look, it's not hard, just buy a new math book, I found this one online for $10.95!"
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:21 AM on December 8, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:21 AM on December 8, 2010 [4 favorites]
I'm currently reading this book and it mentions a few of these types of things. The water pumps under New York City, being the largest example I've read so far. There are lots of other things like the fact that bridges don't rust because someone is there to paint them every year.
posted by purpletangerine at 8:25 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by purpletangerine at 8:25 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Scheduling and advance work for a cabinet-level principal. Even the people I work with don't understand that the boss doesn't just magically show up to a meeting or an event without a whole team of people figuring out logistics, security and his advance briefing and preparation.
posted by fancypants at 8:29 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by fancypants at 8:29 AM on December 8, 2010
3D modeling and animation. Many clients assume that you can add a realistic 3D animated human to a movie at the touch of a button.
posted by martinrebas at 8:32 AM on December 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by martinrebas at 8:32 AM on December 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
Panda reproduction.
posted by Soliloquy at 8:34 AM on December 8, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by Soliloquy at 8:34 AM on December 8, 2010 [3 favorites]
Some underemployed spouses or SOs think that their money just magically comes out of nowhere, when in fact it's their partner working their ass off to make the money.
As one of those underemployed SOs (my job is half-time), I think the full-time working spouse has no idea how much work goes into keeping a house clean, groceries in the fridge, laundry washed/folded/put away, car washed and maintained, bills paid, money invested, cat fed, household supplies purchased, etc. etc.
Both of these examples may be symptoms of unconscious overclaiming -- the tendency of each party in a collaboration to overestimate his or her own proportional contribution.
posted by endless_forms at 8:35 AM on December 8, 2010 [4 favorites]
As one of those underemployed SOs (my job is half-time), I think the full-time working spouse has no idea how much work goes into keeping a house clean, groceries in the fridge, laundry washed/folded/put away, car washed and maintained, bills paid, money invested, cat fed, household supplies purchased, etc. etc.
Both of these examples may be symptoms of unconscious overclaiming -- the tendency of each party in a collaboration to overestimate his or her own proportional contribution.
posted by endless_forms at 8:35 AM on December 8, 2010 [4 favorites]
Ummm, I can't think of many things that 'just happen', tons of people that have spent their lives insulated from other jobs, in specialized parts of organizations, and have an entitled and clueless attitude about every process around them, and assume that those jobs are just guarding a magic button. And it seems the worst for government employees, where people just assume the complete worst.
Like, this thread probably has everyone listing things that they know how to do, because they constantly run into people that think they can do it themselves. Honestly, I think it's pretty educational to try to do everything yourself, you'll gain an appreciation.
The only processes it seems everyone has respect for the process are really huge things, like houses and cars.
posted by yeahyeahyeahwhoo at 8:46 AM on December 8, 2010
Like, this thread probably has everyone listing things that they know how to do, because they constantly run into people that think they can do it themselves. Honestly, I think it's pretty educational to try to do everything yourself, you'll gain an appreciation.
The only processes it seems everyone has respect for the process are really huge things, like houses and cars.
posted by yeahyeahyeahwhoo at 8:46 AM on December 8, 2010
Fiscal and monetary policy.
posted by AkzidenzGrotesk at 8:48 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by AkzidenzGrotesk at 8:48 AM on December 8, 2010
Defensive positions in baseball. You may assume that the defense is simply reacting to the batted ball, but long before the game has started the pitcher and catcher have worked out a specific way they want to pitch to each member of the opposition, which statistically will influence where balls might be hit, which means defensive players during the game will vary their positioning from pitch to pitch, batter to batter, inning to inning based on the pitchers game plan. In critical games the defense will not take a single pitch off all game (as long as the game is close) meaning every single pitch will have its own unique defensive decision matrix.
posted by vito90 at 8:48 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by vito90 at 8:48 AM on December 8, 2010
I feel like this is my standard answer for everything, but newspaper and book design. Text can be a harsh mistress.
posted by kerning at 8:50 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by kerning at 8:50 AM on December 8, 2010
Automated factories. People actually have to design, engineer, and build parts and machines that are unbelievably complex just to make something as simple as a piece of candy.
posted by buckaroo_benzai at 9:14 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by buckaroo_benzai at 9:14 AM on December 8, 2010
Learning.
posted by iftheaccidentwill at 9:18 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by iftheaccidentwill at 9:18 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
You would be surprised even within a company how people from one department are insulated from every other department.
Previous job.. the architect group thought engineers just automagically designed the right parts. The engineers thought the architects automagically designed the right layout.
Try going out of your department/clique and see what the other department actually does before judging them.
posted by radsqd at 9:18 AM on December 8, 2010
Previous job.. the architect group thought engineers just automagically designed the right parts. The engineers thought the architects automagically designed the right layout.
Try going out of your department/clique and see what the other department actually does before judging them.
posted by radsqd at 9:18 AM on December 8, 2010
Pulling requested library books and re-shelving returned books. Some people apparently think that elves do this overnight.
posted by Anima Mundi at 9:31 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Anima Mundi at 9:31 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The disposal of human waste. Where does it go when you flush? There is a group of highly skilled professionals in each city that make this process seem so magical, and they know the steps of the process-- including what to do with the waste after it's been sanitized (human waste is not used as fertilizer, so... then what?).
Also, I think the production of lightbulbs is surprisingly man-hour intensive. Steps that you would imagine to be done by machine are often done by hand.
posted by samthemander at 9:49 AM on December 8, 2010
Also, I think the production of lightbulbs is surprisingly man-hour intensive. Steps that you would imagine to be done by machine are often done by hand.
posted by samthemander at 9:49 AM on December 8, 2010
I used to think rock stars were just born that way. Then I hooked up with a woman who is not only a musician but a poet. What I learned: to make it in music requires years of practicing for hours every day with a metronome; poets work a lot harder and longer than software developers (which is what I am).
The arts are hard, man.
posted by klanawa at 9:50 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
The arts are hard, man.
posted by klanawa at 9:50 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
I always thought accounting kind of happened magically. It wasn't until recently that I found out that a lot of times you have to have people intervene the get the books balanced.
posted by jasondigitized at 10:10 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by jasondigitized at 10:10 AM on December 8, 2010
The sizes and shapes of every single item on every single shelf in every single aisle of your local supermarket were purposefully, deliberately chosen.
Not to mention which shelf they're on, where on that shelf they are located, and the negotiations, contracts and fees involved in putting them there.
posted by rhizome at 10:13 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Not to mention which shelf they're on, where on that shelf they are located, and the negotiations, contracts and fees involved in putting them there.
posted by rhizome at 10:13 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Amusingly enough, I was listening to an interview with a symphony's music director and he complained that people didn't realize how little work went into playing a symphony.
posted by Kattullus at 10:18 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Kattullus at 10:18 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I always think of electricity (as in the flow of power, power grids, etc.) as an example of this specific question. It's actually a quite frail and needy system. Something I was very unaware of. Unlike in fictional stories, shows or movies, where the juice is still on for weeks or months after {insert cataclysm}, apparently it is highly likely that without direct, professional human intervention that:
"...within 4-6 hours there would be scattered blackouts and brownouts in numerous areas, within 12 hours much of the system would be unstable, and within 24 hours most portions of a geographic area, aside from a rare island of service in a rural area near a hydroelectric source, would be without power. Some installations served by wind farms and solar might continue, but they would be very small."
I love you electricity. Please don't go home to lightning land! (my cool stuff neeeeds you)...
posted by Debaser626 at 10:20 AM on December 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
"...within 4-6 hours there would be scattered blackouts and brownouts in numerous areas, within 12 hours much of the system would be unstable, and within 24 hours most portions of a geographic area, aside from a rare island of service in a rural area near a hydroelectric source, would be without power. Some installations served by wind farms and solar might continue, but they would be very small."
I love you electricity. Please don't go home to lightning land! (my cool stuff neeeeds you)...
posted by Debaser626 at 10:20 AM on December 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
A lot of people in first world countries take for granted the communicable diseases and parasites we've conquered with vaccines and public health programs, because they were mostly eradicated several decades ago.
This FPP on the screw worm is one such example. Another is the ignorance of parents who choose not to vaccinate their children because they perceive polio, measles, mumps, whooping cough, etc as some ancient disease that "no one today" gets.
So, not dying in your childhood because of measles or screw worms took lots of work and didn't "just happen".
posted by fontophilic at 10:27 AM on December 8, 2010 [6 favorites]
This FPP on the screw worm is one such example. Another is the ignorance of parents who choose not to vaccinate their children because they perceive polio, measles, mumps, whooping cough, etc as some ancient disease that "no one today" gets.
So, not dying in your childhood because of measles or screw worms took lots of work and didn't "just happen".
posted by fontophilic at 10:27 AM on December 8, 2010 [6 favorites]
Screenwriting. Very few people understand what goes into a good screenplay. Lots of people think they, too, could write a screenplay if they just had time to sit down and bang one out. Quite a few of them are actors, producers and directors, unfortunately.
posted by musofire at 10:34 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by musofire at 10:34 AM on December 8, 2010
I'll add another to the growing list... Theatrical Production. The common (unprovable, probably totally made up) claim is that it takes at least 11 people backstage to get a single actor in front of an audience. Lighting, audio, scenery, paint, costumes, publicity, finance, writers, directors, stage management, rigging, automation, orchestra and on and on. There's an episode of World's Toughest Fixes called "Fixing Vegas" that has some very cool back stage stuff. Actually, pretty much every episode of that show shows a job that you probably didn't think of even existing. Replace the rudder on a cargo ship? Patch the blade on a wind turbine? Neat.
posted by Morydd at 10:37 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Morydd at 10:37 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Echoing what many people above have mentioned: Art! I'll just go with what I know and focus on children's animated television. I'm currently working on a show and an episode that won't be shown for another year was started four months ago. It takes a ridiculous (even I think so) amount of work to produce a single episode, from script readings to storyboarding to revisions to animatic editing... Every character and prop--whether it's a stick or a car--has to be specifically designed. Then there are PA's and coordinators who prepare all the materials, organize calendars, manage/keep track of all the assets, etc etc. On top of that, everything--EVERYTHING--is scrutinized by a cg supervisor, who decides what we can keep and what we have to lose if we're going to stay under budget. It's pretty much a running joke in this industry--people always have anecdotes like "oh, they got mad at me because I drew fog in this scene. They said, 'do you know how much that costs?!'" I think a lot of my friends were partly awed by Disney's Tangled because they kept thinking about how much $$$ that marvelous hair cost. I'm sure people know that creating kid's animation takes work (otherwise the industry wouldn't exist), but I'm not sure they know HOW much work. I think this is probably true of any profession, though.
Also this is kind of silly and not quite what you're asking, but I still think cameras are pretty magical. It's no secret and I can learn about the process on...wikipedia, or something...but really! First you see it there, then you push a button and it shows up here! Magic!
posted by sprezzy at 10:49 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Also this is kind of silly and not quite what you're asking, but I still think cameras are pretty magical. It's no secret and I can learn about the process on...wikipedia, or something...but really! First you see it there, then you push a button and it shows up here! Magic!
posted by sprezzy at 10:49 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
How It's Made is full of this kind of revelation for me. The flip side is also true... some things are totally automated that I might not have guessed.
One that I remember is that CDs (at least when the show was made) are individually silvered and moved around by hand.
posted by cmoj at 11:10 AM on December 8, 2010
One that I remember is that CDs (at least when the show was made) are individually silvered and moved around by hand.
posted by cmoj at 11:10 AM on December 8, 2010
Correspondence - as a legal and regulatory assistant I can tell you that even the most simple, cursory letter that seems like a mail merge or automatically generated document was actually probably put together by someone with far less automation than you would think. Someone made the label, someone got the ok to put an electronic signature on it, someone scanned and/or copied it, etc. Someone googled you/phoned your office to check spelling and address. They inserted the correct salutation and pronouns, etc.
Having been a sales assistant I can also assure you that anything you're handed in a corporate sales environment, no matter how professionally put together it may look, was probably assembled piece by grueling piece by some sucker assistant who had to find out weird minute details about you and go way out of their way to give you something customized.
posted by SassHat at 11:31 AM on December 8, 2010
Having been a sales assistant I can also assure you that anything you're handed in a corporate sales environment, no matter how professionally put together it may look, was probably assembled piece by grueling piece by some sucker assistant who had to find out weird minute details about you and go way out of their way to give you something customized.
posted by SassHat at 11:31 AM on December 8, 2010
Bacon packaging - I remember seeing a show (maybe Dirty Jobs) that had a segment on packaging bacon. Every slab of bacon is aligned on the package by hand, making sure the stair-step shape is perfect. Every one.
posted by youngergirl44 at 11:39 AM on December 8, 2010
posted by youngergirl44 at 11:39 AM on December 8, 2010
How about that baseball teams magically appear at the right stadium at the right time with clean uniforms and correct equipment?
Seriously, think of the logistics of getting 30 teams of 50+ people and tons of equipment to the right places, at the right times (without dying!) for 162 games a year! We're talking airplanes, hotels, equipment managers, stadium operations, ticket sales...peanut farmers, CrackerJack makers...
posted by bluejayway at 12:27 PM on December 8, 2010
Seriously, think of the logistics of getting 30 teams of 50+ people and tons of equipment to the right places, at the right times (without dying!) for 162 games a year! We're talking airplanes, hotels, equipment managers, stadium operations, ticket sales...peanut farmers, CrackerJack makers...
posted by bluejayway at 12:27 PM on December 8, 2010
That metal spoon, and fine layer of gold on your headphone connection, and aluminium your drink comes in, and steel that holds your house together - those were all dug out of a mine somewhere.
posted by twirlypen at 12:33 PM on December 8, 2010
posted by twirlypen at 12:33 PM on December 8, 2010
Traffic signals. I gather there's a lot of work involved in timing traffic lights so that traffic flows smoothly through an *entire* urban area.
posted by Ys at 12:41 PM on December 8, 2010
posted by Ys at 12:41 PM on December 8, 2010
This is such a neat thread. A house two doors down from me just had a major housefire. And, first, the speed and professionalism of the firefighters -- nobody was hurrying but everyone was moving quickly and efficiently -- was amazing, but the sheer NUMBERS of them for a fire of that size, plus the number of jobs that had to occur to control the fire and then afterwards -- it was crazy. I had no idea it involved SO much more than "spray water at fire." (I mean, I knew it involved SOME more. But not THAT much more.)
In the aftermath, there's been a daily parade of service people (headed up by ServPro, whose slogan on their trucks says "like it never even happened") doing the fire clean-up, recovery for all of the people's stuff that survived, and now repair of the house from the 2x4s out. It's truly amazing now just how much goes into clean-up after a fire, but how quickly it's all been moving. They're seriously like fire-fixing elves!
(The whole thing has made me feel really comforted about my fears about housefires, as well as REALLY GOOD about paying my municipal taxes and homeowner's insurance! THAT SHIT WORKS!)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 1:40 PM on December 8, 2010
In the aftermath, there's been a daily parade of service people (headed up by ServPro, whose slogan on their trucks says "like it never even happened") doing the fire clean-up, recovery for all of the people's stuff that survived, and now repair of the house from the 2x4s out. It's truly amazing now just how much goes into clean-up after a fire, but how quickly it's all been moving. They're seriously like fire-fixing elves!
(The whole thing has made me feel really comforted about my fears about housefires, as well as REALLY GOOD about paying my municipal taxes and homeowner's insurance! THAT SHIT WORKS!)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 1:40 PM on December 8, 2010
The GPS system.
From a user's viewpoint a GPS receiver is so simple and so cheap. In reality it's a hugely expensive ($500 million a year, not even counting satellite cost) system: a large USAF team monitors each satellite's orbit and on-board clock to a very high precision, and constantly make adjustments.
posted by phliar at 3:12 PM on December 8, 2010
From a user's viewpoint a GPS receiver is so simple and so cheap. In reality it's a hugely expensive ($500 million a year, not even counting satellite cost) system: a large USAF team monitors each satellite's orbit and on-board clock to a very high precision, and constantly make adjustments.
posted by phliar at 3:12 PM on December 8, 2010
Best answer: Pandora radio. For each track you hear, some college music student has sat strapped to a chair for a half hour answering 400 semi-pertinent questions about how much Latin influence, etc.
posted by nosila at 6:04 PM on December 8, 2010
posted by nosila at 6:04 PM on December 8, 2010
Traffic signals. I gather there's a lot of work involved in timing traffic lights so that traffic flows smoothly through an *entire* urban area.
Yes, typically a traffic light on a major road in a big city is not just a dumb thing that switches from red to yellow to green. It's part of a mathematical plan for how to move people through the city, a plan likely created by someone in what is called operations research. Relevant to your question, many things that might seem random or arbitrary to the average person are painstakingly optimized by people in OR (e.g. airline flight schedules).
On a lighter note, my housemate in college studied under one of the OR guys who created the traffic plan for Baltimore (where we went to college). He talked to the guy about the timing, and learned how to drive much of the city without ever (or very rarely) missing a light :).
posted by madmethods at 6:26 PM on December 8, 2010
Yes, typically a traffic light on a major road in a big city is not just a dumb thing that switches from red to yellow to green. It's part of a mathematical plan for how to move people through the city, a plan likely created by someone in what is called operations research. Relevant to your question, many things that might seem random or arbitrary to the average person are painstakingly optimized by people in OR (e.g. airline flight schedules).
On a lighter note, my housemate in college studied under one of the OR guys who created the traffic plan for Baltimore (where we went to college). He talked to the guy about the timing, and learned how to drive much of the city without ever (or very rarely) missing a light :).
posted by madmethods at 6:26 PM on December 8, 2010
I love this thread!
-TV shows, music videos, and movies. If you really think about the length of the list of credits - that's a lot of different people involved. (And yes, when I was young I used to think they were all shot in order, in real time - like plays)
-Newspapers, especially daily ones. A completely new product is produced, printed, and delivered every single day to your door or the store.
-Related to the above, the advertising circulars you get in your newspaper. If you pick up a newspaper in the US, it's very likely you will find a circular from one of my company's clients. I will tell you that at least four different departments in my company are involved in the process of getting them into the papers - and that's not counting people who do the creative, the printers, the people at the newspapers themselves...it's more complicated than I ever imagined before I started my job.
posted by SisterHavana at 9:51 PM on December 8, 2010
-TV shows, music videos, and movies. If you really think about the length of the list of credits - that's a lot of different people involved. (And yes, when I was young I used to think they were all shot in order, in real time - like plays)
-Newspapers, especially daily ones. A completely new product is produced, printed, and delivered every single day to your door or the store.
-Related to the above, the advertising circulars you get in your newspaper. If you pick up a newspaper in the US, it's very likely you will find a circular from one of my company's clients. I will tell you that at least four different departments in my company are involved in the process of getting them into the papers - and that's not counting people who do the creative, the printers, the people at the newspapers themselves...it's more complicated than I ever imagined before I started my job.
posted by SisterHavana at 9:51 PM on December 8, 2010
Dirty Jobs might be an interesting show to you. From the opening of each episode: "hard working men and women who earn an honest living doing the kinds of jobs that make civilized life possible for the rest of us."
posted by rux at 10:10 PM on December 8, 2010
posted by rux at 10:10 PM on December 8, 2010
Apple trees. Each eating apple tree is an actual clone of an apple tree sitting on the roots of another type of apple tree with hardy roots.
posted by Foam Pants at 10:54 PM on December 8, 2010
posted by Foam Pants at 10:54 PM on December 8, 2010
We visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory this summer and it was a blast to watch the cheese packaging line working. What was especially fascinating was watching this pair of women on either side of the line "randomly" pull blocks of chedder from the line and either add a thin slice of cheese to the block or remove a thin slice of cheese which they would add to a different block. Took us awhile to figure out that they were manually adjusting the weight of the blocks. And that they probably posessed an incredibly well-honed sense of how much to remove and what size slice in front of then would probably even out a block. Amazing!
Now, when I cut into a fresh block of medium cheddar, I look to see if it's been balanced and I'm pretty confident that my 2 lb baby loaf really is two pounds!
posted by amanda at 9:11 AM on December 9, 2010
Now, when I cut into a fresh block of medium cheddar, I look to see if it's been balanced and I'm pretty confident that my 2 lb baby loaf really is two pounds!
posted by amanda at 9:11 AM on December 9, 2010
It was written in the 90s and I've only read 1/3 of it, but A Day in the Night of America by Kevin Coyne covers a lot of graveyard jobs, which are often the ones that which work people take for granted.
His book is written about different night jobs:
For example, banks in a major city transporting bags of money during the night to make sure deposits and withdrawals would be balanced by morning.
Fisherman in New England, night court judges in NY, news desks in DC, supermarket markets, weather monitoring, and steel production are some of the things I recall (and looked up again) that were covered in the book.
The unfortunate thing is this book was written during the ur-Internet, so it's a bit dated. I would really like someone to write a 2010 edition, as I'm sure lots of things have changed.
posted by Jack Uphill at 10:25 AM on December 9, 2010
His book is written about different night jobs:
For example, banks in a major city transporting bags of money during the night to make sure deposits and withdrawals would be balanced by morning.
Fisherman in New England, night court judges in NY, news desks in DC, supermarket markets, weather monitoring, and steel production are some of the things I recall (and looked up again) that were covered in the book.
The unfortunate thing is this book was written during the ur-Internet, so it's a bit dated. I would really like someone to write a 2010 edition, as I'm sure lots of things have changed.
posted by Jack Uphill at 10:25 AM on December 9, 2010
How It's Made is full of this kind of revelation for me.
What gets me is thinking about all the the engineering and machining that go into the actual factory layout and the design of the machinery that make the stuff on 'How It's Made'.
Fascinating stuff!
posted by chugg at 12:41 PM on December 9, 2010
What gets me is thinking about all the the engineering and machining that go into the actual factory layout and the design of the machinery that make the stuff on 'How It's Made'.
Fascinating stuff!
posted by chugg at 12:41 PM on December 9, 2010
I didn't even think of that! Someone had to design and build that machine that can count 500 toothpicks in a tenth of a second!
posted by cmoj at 2:28 PM on December 9, 2010
posted by cmoj at 2:28 PM on December 9, 2010
Digitization of archival material is way more involved than most people think. If I had a buck for everyone who said "But can't you just put it online??" I would be very rich.
posted by mostly vowels at 8:46 PM on December 9, 2010
posted by mostly vowels at 8:46 PM on December 9, 2010
samthemander writes "including what to do with the waste after it's been sanitized (human waste is not used as fertilizer"
Treated human waste, called effluent, is used for fertilizer and irrigation where I live during non freezing months (and we've got storage to handle some of the freezing months too). But not until it's been processed for 3-4 months. It's a much better result than dumping the effluent directly back into the river.
posted by Mitheral at 5:53 AM on December 10, 2010
Treated human waste, called effluent, is used for fertilizer and irrigation where I live during non freezing months (and we've got storage to handle some of the freezing months too). But not until it's been processed for 3-4 months. It's a much better result than dumping the effluent directly back into the river.
posted by Mitheral at 5:53 AM on December 10, 2010
Text for picture books. Fewer words = more work, not less. It's along the same lines as poetry; every word is deliberately chosen for maximum impact.
posted by giraffe at 6:40 AM on December 10, 2010
posted by giraffe at 6:40 AM on December 10, 2010
Managing sports fields, golf courses, and grassy park areas. Turfgrass is a huge industry that involves professionals from plant geneticists down to the person who mows the lawn (and the people who designed the mower that cuts that particular kind of fescue or bentgrass or whatever at the proper height).
posted by catlet at 11:36 AM on December 16, 2010
posted by catlet at 11:36 AM on December 16, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by StephenF at 2:54 AM on December 8, 2010 [2 favorites]