Biceps, triceps, quadriceps

Biceps, triceps and quadriceps: muscles drawing showing the 2, 3, and 4 connecting origins of each, respectively

Prints

One day after swimming front crawl, which works the triceps nicely, it all became clear. The triceps muscle has a curious shape at the top on account of its three 'heads' — or connecting origins. And the name derives from tri-ceps from Latin meaning three-heads. And so it goes. The biceps is a two-headed muscle attached with a long and short connection at the top. And the more complicated quadriceps has four heads that attach at the top, though they're a little harder to see.

Beyond this concept finally clicking for me, it was fun to emulate some of the anatomical graphical style of Leonardo Da Vinci — perhaps the ultimate at sketchplanations? — which I have long admired. For inspiration, this is a cracking collection: Leonardo Da Vinci the Graphic Works .

Published 14 Mar 2021

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Feedback fear

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Goodhart's law illustration showing a manager frustrated by 1000's of tiny nails when measuring on number of nails made, and pulling their hair out when presented with giant nails when measuring on weight

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Feedback is how we get better. It's how we find out what we couldn't see ourselves. But there are many reasons why it's more challenging to gather than we might hope. You might have a design prototype, a book or article draft, a new practice you want your team to adopt, or a project you've been working on. Feedback will make it better, but it's easy to feel anxious. You might want to avoid having to talk to people. Maybe you're worried about what others think—perhaps they won't like it. Maybe you'll have to start over. Maybe you'll hear what you know deep down. Maybe you might see that others could do it better than you, that it shouldn't be you that's doing it. Maybe you'll find out that you're a failure. If we care about achieving the best outcome, we can dispel most of these fears with a few moments of reflection—of course, I'm not a failure for trying!—but it doesn't mean they feel any less real at the time. As is often the case, action can be the solution, and gathering feedback is, in my experience, usually energising and confidence-building—now you can see what will make your project fly. Jane Austen was known to read her novels aloud to her family for both evening entertainment (pre-Netflix) and to help revise and hone her writing. Some strategies to get past these fears: Remember, the first draft is always perfect. Don't take things personally or yourself too seriously. Don't get attached to one option—attach yourself instead to a great outcome. To avoid sunk costs clouding your judgment, seek feedback before you're too invested. Stay fuelled and energised. Share multiple options when you can. It makes it easier for others to give comparative feedback and reduces the chances of taking it personally. Remember how valuable good feedback has been in the past. Consider who to gather feedback from. Sometimes complete strangers can help (who cares if they don't like it?), and other times a friendly face can ease you into it. Remember the spectrum policy to focus on the good in an idea. Try rubberducking. Be open to be changed. Try the six thinking hats.…Feedback is how we get better. It's how we find out what we couldn't see ourselves. But there are many reasons why it's more challenging to gather than we might hope. You might have a design prototype, a book or article draft, a new practice you want your team to adopt, or a project you've been working on. Feedback will make it better, but it's easy to feel anxious. You might want to avoid having to talk to people. Maybe you're worried about what others think—perhaps they won't like it. Maybe you'll have to start over. Maybe you'll hear what you know deep down. Maybe you might see that others could do it better than you, that it shouldn't be you that's doing it. Maybe you'll find out that you're a failure. If we care about achieving the best outcome, we can dispel most of these fears with a few moments of reflection—of course, I'm not a failure for trying!—but it doesn't mean they feel any less real at the time. As is often the case, action can be the solution, and gathering feedback is, in my experience, usually energising and confidence-building—now you can see what will make your project fly. Jane Austen was known to read her novels aloud to her family for both evening entertainment (pre-Netflix) and to help revise and hone her writing. Some strategies to get past these fears: Remember, the first draft is always perfect. Don't take things personally or yourself too seriously. Don't get attached to one option—attach yourself instead to a great outcome. To avoid sunk costs clouding your judgment, seek feedback before you're too invested. Stay fuelled and energised. Share multiple options when you can. It makes it easier for others to give comparative feedback and reduces the chances of taking it personally. Remember how valuable good feedback has been in the past. Consider who to gather feedback from. Sometimes complete strangers can help (who cares if they don't like it?), and other times a friendly face can ease you into it. Remember the spectrum policy to focus on the good in an idea. Try rubberducking. Be open to be changed. Try the six thinking hats.

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