078-05-1120

This number is also known as the most misused social security number of all time. It was used as a dummy insert for wallets in 1938.

I came across this number reading this cartoon on xkcd.

Group Polarisation

Group polarisation is the tendency of a group of people to make a decision that is more extreme than the initial inclination of its members.

I came across the idea in this blog where the author discusses its effect on groups of software developers.

Wikipedia

Law of the Instrument

There is a popular saying: "If your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail". If you haven't heard it, then you're probably not a software developer. I've heard and used it regularly over the years. What I did not know, though, was that it was attributed to Maslow and that it's also known as "the Law of the Instrument", The Golden Hammer or Maslow's Hammer.

Wikipedia

Schelling point

The Schelling point, named after Nobel prize winning economist Thomas Schelling, is a solution that people will tend to use in the absence of communication.

Wikipedia

Hofmeister Kink

The Hofmeister Kink is the characteristic curve on the C-pillar of BMWs.

Wikipedia