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A few years ago I helped a friend move. His father was also helping out and together they formed a great partnership. This was obviously not the first time that they were moving together.

In order to fill the truck as efficient as possible, his father stood in the truck and he yelled which shape or size the next object should have.

“Long, thin and round!” He for example yelled. Or: “Small and square!” Sometimes he would get more specific: “A box the size of a football!” And sometimes he would get very specific: “A football!”


The father sometimes had difficulties giving an accurate description of what he needed, but my friend’s challenge was even greater. Because he had to actually find things that fit that description. And that was easier said than done. When his father asked about the “box the size of a football” my friend gave him his microwave. And judging by the look on his father's face that was obviously not what he was expecting.

But the biggest flaw of their system to me seemed to be the fact that it left out irregular shapes. In other words shapes that are not likely to fit any description. After we successfully filled the truck my friend's plants were for example still standing on the sidewalk. Just as a hatrack, an office lamp and a foldable tray table.

Never had his father gave any descriptions that came even close to these objects. As if his father refused to acknowledge their existence.



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