A Mathematical 'Table of Ease' from 1557

Note: "squares of zenzicubes"!

From Recorde's 'The Whetstone of Witte' (1557). "The fruitful table, which may be called the table of ease".

There are some awesome words in this table. Check out number 16. And 'squares of cubicubes'. pic.twitter.com/mhGOTD0LFB

— Jo Morgan (@mathsjem) March 21, 2019

Eighteenth-Century Rotating Table: I Want One!

Not that this is the most practical and efficient 21st-century method to address this issue... but I want one!

A must for every library: eighteenth-century rotating table allowing readers to view multiple volumes at once. pic.twitter.com/p18X8LRpPo

— NSCM (@LitteraCarolina) April 14, 2017

(Tip of the cap to Gabrielle Birkman.)

A Table of Perverse Incentives in Academia

I can't argue with this table.

It would also be relevant to include a line for "tenure", because that too has a very good intended effect (time to work on impactful blue-skies research without undo pressure and harmful immediacy) and unfortunate side effects (e.g., slacking, dead weight, insufficient accountability on certain things).

Here's the horrifying key table from the paper Siddhartha Roy co-authored on perverse incentives in academia. #AAASmtg pic.twitter.com/sdrUlPmXs7

— Mike 48% Tⓐylor (@MikeTaylor) February 18, 2017

Update: There are some worthwhile comments in my associated Facebook post.

NES Controller Coffee Table

This coffee table doubles as a fully functional controller for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Awesome!

(Tip of the cap to David Blau.)