Hidden Glories of the Web

Bartosz Ciechanowski

Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989 and introduced it to the public in August 1991, less than 31 years ago. But already I've been on the alert for high points and masterpieces—because there are naturally going to be creations that fit the medium so well that they almost could not exist if it wasn't for the Web and the particular way that content creation for it has developed. For example, a one-minute, six-second video of a British young person sitting in his apartment demonstrating how to play the Seinfeld theme on his bass at five different levels of difficulty—quite a virtuoso minute!—or this explanation of a difficult musical concept that links the Coltrane Changes to M.C. Escher.

I wish there were a rich, overarching "Nobel/Pulitzer Prize" sort of award for the best accomplishments of the Web, either pages or video clips. The world clearly doesn't even think of it that way yet. We're in the "happily-taking-it-all-for-granted" stage still.

Anyway, "Mechanical Watch" by Bartosz Ciechanowski would win one of those awards. Nick, who brought it to our attention, said, "I can't resist giving a link to this amazing page, explaining through interactive animations how mechanical watches work. A pure wonder." Nailed it. Wow. Bartosz's incredible tutorial combines the written word with gorgeous and beautifully clear interactive graphic animations to explain something commonly assumed to be comprehensible only to engineers and experts. I'm only mildly a fan of mechanical watches, not deeply into them by any means, but I can get interested in many things if they're presented well enough. And I'm a teacher at heart, so I admire clear and communicative explanations of complex topics. This is flat-out great.

The Bugatti and Air Jordan
Every medium and category of creation eventually has its high points and masterpieces. These usually require a confluence of events, individuals, necessity and demand, and attention/prestige. Theater, for instance, enjoyed a massive craze in Elizabethan England; it was the entertainment of the age and the overwhelming preoccupation of the public. The era, the conditions, and the opportunities attracted and enabled an individual called Will Shakespeare, who mostly adapted older stories as stage plays for public entertainment. Something broadly similar can be understood of the Beatles or Mahatma Gandhi or Michael Jordan.

What is true of human activities and arts is generally no less true of human manufacture. Sometimes this is the result of individual genius (the light bulb, the Bugatti Type 35), but in many cases it's cooperative and additive over time—innovation, craft, and engineering is combined with long periods of refinement until we end up with something that appears to be truly miraculous: subtle, effective, and, surprisingly often, beautiful. The sailing sloop, for instance, a modest contrivance that is the culmination of millennia of experience, design, and refinement. The book on the bookshelf, which took centuries to evolve! (If you're a dilettante enamored of design and engineering and don't know Henry Petroski yet, do yourself a favor and pick the book of his that appeals to you most and read it. A warning, though—he picks simple subjects and then says everything it is possible to say about it. If that doesn't sound like your cuppa, then Henry P. ain't either.)

It's Sunday, and it's a good thing it's Sunday, because if you get into Bartosz Ciechanowski's beautiful Web page it's going to suck down a chunk of your spare time. But...well, wow. Thanks to Nick.

And as for Bartosz, can you please do one on Yoshihisa Maitani's Olympus OM-4?

Mike

Book o' the Week

 All About Saul Leiter. The Amazon writeup for this book says "Photography lovers the world over are now embracing Saul Leiter"—and oh boy, is that ever true of me—"who has enjoyed a remarkable revival since fading into relative obscurity in the 1980s." One of my favorite photographers. Beautiful photopoems. Saul's Early Color (which you can still get for around $300) was one of our all-time bestselling book links. (I bought two, one to thumb and one to not touch!)

This book link is a portal to Amazon.

Link to B&H

Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Featured Comments from:

Comments

[robert e]

Well, the Webby Awards have been around since 1996: https://www.webbyawards.com/

While it may not be beautiful in any conventional sense, and is quite flawed, I think wikipedia is one of the web's greatest creations/resources/artifacts.

[Grant]

I have been watching the second hand sweep around the watch face for over 10 minutes. I'm stuck here. I can't remember the last time I saw a second hand.

Please bring back the food posts that I loathe so much.

[Alex G]

Petroski’s book on the Pencil is the one that lingers for me.

[jeremy t]

Being a Brit I assume you mean Joseph Swan as the genius who invented the light bulb? Thomas Edison is the genius who made the world believe he invented it. Actually the developmental history of the lightbulb is pretty congested and that wonder of the internet, Wikipedia, has a pretty good page on this.

[Mark]

Hi Mike

Agreed the mechanical watch page is outstanding.

Have you seen the article about “Cameras and Lenses”?

https://ciechanow.ski/cameras-and-lenses/

The one on the “Internal Combustion Engine” is also quite fascinating.

https://ciechanow.ski/internal-combustion-engine/

Regards
Mark

[Bill Tyler]

I'll second Mike's recommendation of Petroski. His book, "The Pencil," is a great read. It may sound dull, but there's a wealth of history and technology involved in that simple writing instrument.

[Robin P]

I had to google Michael Jordan to find out who he is - and now I shall immediately forget.........

[I admit I had to ask my friend why he keeps talking about "Man United." Now I know what it means (a soccer team from a place called Man). --Mike]

[Kodachromeguy]

It is a real shame that the World Wide Web also brought us Facebook, Twitter, and some of the other social media tools that are being manipulated to destroy our society and undermine constitutional government in this country. 50 years from now, historians will look back and wonder "What were you people possibly thinking to not regulate these? The danger was clearly evident. "

[Patrick Perez]

I bought a copy of Petroski's To Engineer is Human years ago and misplaced it before finishing reading. My hometown bridge is on the cover (Tacoma Narrows). I'll buy a new copy.

And looking over his other titles, I think I can safely tell my wife that any of his books would make an excellent gift.

Patrick

[Patrick Perez]

Mike wrote: [I admit I had to ask my friend why he keeps talking about "Man United." Now I know what it means (a soccer team from a place called Man). --Mike]

Are you taking the piss?

It's Manchester United. Or are you just Liverpudlian?

Patrick

(BTW, since the rest of the world calls our game American Football, I refer to this game as Un-American Football)

[I know, I was just being jokey. I have a friend--all American--who is way into World Football. He lives and breathes it, big fan, but never been to a game in person! He loves it. Well I love snooker too but have never seen a game in person. P.S. He is a Liverpool fan. --Mike]

[Timothy Auger]

A musical genius whose fame spread initially via the Web is Jacob Collier. He's world-famous now, with four Grammys (Grammies?) to his name. He started out making multi-track musical arrangements in his bedroom in North London. This is probably the most famous - to be watched on a big screen using headphones. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPLCk-FTVvw
Now he has a whole career doing live shows, but that isn't how he started.

[psu]

This math video about the "Riemann Zeta Function" and other geometric puzzles is a work of art. You don't really even have to understand what is going on, necessarily.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD0NjbwqlYw

[Ilkka]

Thanks for the link to the mechanical watch description. It is great. But just imagine the amount of work it has taken to make it happen. Figuring out the overall description, making all the drawings and animations and putting it together. Huge amount of work. That is why this kind of educational websites are so rare. But that makes the few gems even more outstanding.