Editing 1796: Focus Knob

{{comic
| number    = 1796
| date      = February 8, 2017
| title     = Focus Knob
| image     = focus_knob.png
| titletext = Maybe if I spin it back and forth really fast I can do some kind of pulse-width modulation.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT then edited by a human, I think.}}
The image is of a rotary {{w|control knob}} used for adjusting parameters in instruments, such as the visual focus of a camera or display. Apparently this one is for adjusting [[Randall]]'s personal focus level, with the extremes of focus being towards small details and big picture respectively. However, humans do not usually have control knobs to adjust personal parameters; thus, the absurdity of the concept -- having direct, immediate control of mental/emotional focus -- drives the humor of this strip. Some may see this as desirable, but it could also be manipulated by others against one's will.

While performing any task, it is easy to get so lost in the details that you forget the big picture. It is also equally easy to think much about the big picture and make vague plans while missing out on the details.

One can get lost doing small tasks that might increase efficiency for long projects (e.g. fiddling with email settings), but these might make one lose track of the big picture.

The healthy balance, Randall suggests, is focusing mostly towards the big picture, while keeping an eye on the details. Focusing too much on the big picture can ensure nothing gets done, leading to panic and existential crises.

In the title text, Randall imagines spinning the dial to and fro, causing {{w|Pulse-width modulation}} (a technique often used to encode data in waves). This techniques consists of shifting between a set of fixed values (often 2) so that the average is the expected output. For exemple switching back and forth between 0 and 1, spending half the time in each position will lead to a mean value of 0.5. To code 0.7, you have to spend more time in the 1 position (70% of the time). One feature of this modulation is that the expected value is not actually reached by the signal before applying the low-pass filter (averaging), so using a PWM-like method would mean alternating between being too much and too little attention to detail to have an average on the healthy balance, but never actually reach it. As cool as the idea may sound, it is probably not very healthy.

Many people having a project to complete will usually cycle through the various available settings, often going directly from fiddling the email to panic and existential crisis in a matter of minutes. Maintaining a healthy balance throughout the project is difficult, because it occupies such a small place on the knob.

Of course, not everyone is knob-headed, so some people can panic and have an existential crisis while simultaneously fiddling with email settings.

==Transcript==
:Personal Focus

:[A gray rotary control knob with the range of options divided into 36 equal sections. The knob points at the 12th line from left extreme. The clockwise order of the labeled settings are:]
:[Left extreme:]
:Detail-Oriented
:[First 23 sections:]
:<span style="color: gray;">Fiddling with email settings</span>
:[One narrow section:]
:<span style="color: gray;">Healthy balance</span>
:[Last 12 sections:]
:<span style="color: gray;">Panic and existential paralysis</span>
:[Right extreme:]
:Big Picture

{{comic discussion}}