Learn design thinking from cats

March 30, 2017 11:25 AM

Think inside the box.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (12 comments total)

This was delightful.
posted by jillithd at 11:49 AM on March 30, 2017

Very nice. As to cats being lazy, here's my favorite aphorism/motto: Creative Laziness is the Mother of Invention. I think more designers should study cats and keep this motto in mind all the while.
posted by MovableBookLady at 11:58 AM on March 30, 2017 [5 favorites]

My favorite part was that the kitten's name is Cupcake Schoolbus.
posted by zeptoweasel at 11:59 AM on March 30, 2017 [10 favorites]

Consequently there are over 300,000 hours of videos on YouTube of cats making fools of themselves.

I suspect this is a vast underestimate.
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:12 PM on March 30, 2017 [7 favorites]

Cats will sit in any circle or box because they're above arbitrary primate fussing over names of shapes.
posted by bleep at 12:12 PM on March 30, 2017

I wholeheartedly second the advice to not be afraid to look like an idiot. Self-consciousness is the enemy of learning. I'm thinking in particular of learning a new language and being unwilling to practice lest you phrase something incorrectly and sound like a doofus. Of COURSE you sound like a doofus! You're learning a new language!

In summary, cats are great role models.
posted by orrnyereg at 12:15 PM on March 30, 2017 [9 favorites]

Consequently there are over 300,000 hours of videos on YouTube of cats making fools of themselves.

I suspect this is a vast underestimate.

Depends on who determines who is the fool. The cat would likely say "I totally meant to do that, I was just testing a theory, and now I have learned much."

A dog, on the other hand, would say "Lookit! I'm a goofy goof! What a goof! Yaah!"
posted by filthy light thief at 12:26 PM on March 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

I learned to trill my R's from a cat. very useful!
posted by supermedusa at 12:41 PM on March 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

Cats are also suspicious of flashy innovation, and they prefer maintenance and implementation to large theoretical ideas. This is a sound basis for sustainable living. Also, cats do not care about ROIs and profit-seeking.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:30 PM on March 30, 2017 [6 favorites]

I just loved this: When you’re driven by laziness, you’re forced to take a hard look at your resources and make trade offs.

So true. And so wise.
posted by adam hominem at 8:49 PM on March 30, 2017

My cat cares a lot about ROI. She literally calculates the least amount of work it takes to wake me up in the morning and gives up when I make it clear it's not happening for awhile. She also stops doing things when they become ineffective.
posted by bleep at 9:29 PM on March 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

It depends on the investment portfolio. If you're talking about the first sunbeams of spring versus a volatile housefly, the wise fluffball will perhaps diversify her portfolio by swatting at the fly while on her back tummy-sunbathing, but further investment will depend on whether the housefly is trundling or flitting. Good spring sunbeams are sure to have reliable returns. A flitting housefly less so.
posted by fraula at 1:33 AM on March 31, 2017 [5 favorites]