Oversimplified: Volume 133

Cheating students, levels of indirections, and the Japanese countryside

Hey there 👋

Short and sweet this week. Oversimplified is a digest of the best links I stumble upon each week, and any new posts from me. If this is your first issue, welcome! You can subscribe with the big blue button below:

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📚 My Students Cheated

Cheating is a real and common thing at universities, as shown by this long and very entertaining write-up from a professor on his experience dealing with it in one particular class, from sneaking in the group chat to dealing out repercussions.

📚 Examining the Data Consumer

One of my favorite recent posts from dbt founder Tristan Handy. He examples the meaning of “data consumer” and how the user experience evolves from playing analyst to playing business user while unpacking some inaccuracies about these stereotypes.

📚 One Level of Indirection

There are some interesting principles and thoughts here around indirection, defined as the act of pointing to something by name or reference rather than the thing itself. Namely: It’s easier to move a problem around than it is to solve it. You can always move it around.

🔗 Walking the Cotswolds, Walking Japan

I find Craig Mod’s writing to be really meditative. As someone who would love to do a bit of exploring Japan myself one day, his photography-centric journal entries of experiences walking through the countryside always pique my interest.

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Food for Thought

“The tough thing is that consistency can feel like it’s not paying off for long stretches of time. You feel aimless, like you’re going nowhere. You’re not improving as fast as you like. I’m an impatient person, so when I encounter this I always think, shouldn’t I be doing something smarter? But it’s like kicking in a door or breaking a piñata: you have kind of just keep going until something breaks.” — Consistency Is Proficiency

Until next time

As always, if you're enjoying Oversimplified, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend or two. If anything stood out, whether good or bad, I would love to hear about it. Reply to this email or tweet at me and let’s chat.

Until next time,

Conor