John T. Unger is an artist who specializes in large metal sculptures. His work is beautiful and requires the use of a tape measure regularly. Unfortunately, he always finds himself without one. Here is his solution:

• Brute Force Redundancy and Entropic Distribution: john t. unger studio

I solved that problem yesterday using a new strategy I’m calling “brute force redundancy.” I went to the dollar store and bought six tape measures and plan to let entropy distribute them to the places they are most likely to be used.

Funny thing is, I did the same thing with scissors, but it wasn’t a conscious decision like John’s. I bought a six pack of scissors at Costco. At first, they were all in their package. Then, one by one, they were distributed to the places they were needed most: the kitchen, my desk, Mike’s desk, with my arts & crafts, and in the sewing box.

Thank you for giving it a name, John: Brute Force Redundancy!