7 THINGS WORTH KNOWING / 13 November 2026

Little Discoveries

Design · Philosophy · Plants · Curiosities · Words · Food · Cultures & peoples. 7 discoveries in this edition.

Harry Beck: a map built around connections

In depth · 3 min read

Harry Beck’s Underground diagram changes the distances on paper to make the available connections easier for passengers to understand.

In depth · 3 min read

A provocation from Schopenhauer separates the accumulation of reading from the work needed to understand the ideas we encounter.

In depth · 3 min read

Clivia keeps its green leaves while a cooler, drier winter period can help prepare the plant for its next flowering.

In depth · 3 min read

Turn over a spoon and you meet two different mirrors: the surface shape changes the paths taken by reflected light.

In depth · 3 min read

Italian panorama arrives through English and combines Greek elements, carrying a history of circular pictures into our everyday views.

In depth · 3 min read

Beneath a potato’s skin is a storage organ: its eyes help reveal the tuber’s identity as a modified underground stem.

In depth · 3 min read

In Kaustinen’s fiddle tradition, listening and playing together pass on details that a collection of written scores cannot fully capture.

Original writing and illustrations made with AI assistance. Each discovery includes its sources. Our editorial method