Dominoes are a type of game, popular in Western countries, that is played with a set of stacked tiles. In the most basic game, two to four players draw and place dominoes in a sequence of block-and-draw games, each player playing to a domino that has the highest total pip count.
There are many variations of dominoes and their rules but the most common rules require each tile to be placed such that all of its matching sides touch. This is achieved by placing each tile so that its bottom edge is perpendicular to the top edge of the next domino. In addition, the domino chain itself develops a snake-line as it progresses along the table.
The concept of the domino effect is that a small nudge on a domino can send its potential energy soaring to the next domino, providing the push needed for it to fall. That potential energy, which is stored within the first domino, is converted to kinetic energy when that domino falls and transmits it to the next domino.
A domino chain consists of a sequence of dominoes arranged in a circular arrangement. When one domino is tipped over, its potential energy is transferred to the next domino and the chain continues until all of the dominoes are knocked down.
This process, called the Domino Effect, is a powerful way to make decisions. It’s a great tool to use when you’re trying to prioritize ideas that might otherwise be overwhelming, and it’s also a good mental model for creating and implementing new habits in your life or work.
It’s a lot easier to get something done when you break it down into smaller, more manageable steps and make it part of your normal routine. For example, if you’re looking to improve your financial planning, try breaking it down into several small dominoes that you can take on one at a time.
The domino effect applies to a wide range of areas of your life and career, but it’s especially relevant for writing. Using a domino model as a way to prioritize ideas can help you focus on the most impactful ideas and avoid the “flash in the pan” syndrome that so often kills projects before they’ve had a chance to mature.
When it comes to writing, a domino model can help you to determine which ideas should be prioritized and which are best left unexplored. Think of every plot beat in a novel as a domino and consider how each step contributes to the bigger goal.
You can also use a domino model when you’re deciding which habits to start. Choose a habit that you’re excited about and then commit to working on it. As you do this, it will become second nature, and you’ll see that it has a positive impact on your life.
Hevesh follows a similar process to engineering designers when creating her mind-blowing installations. She makes test versions of each section of her creations, films them in slow motion to check for mistakes, and then finally assembles all the pieces together. She uses a combination of 3-D and flat arrangements to create her designs, which are made up of hundreds of dominoes. Her largest installations, which consist of thousands of dominoes in a curved arrangement, can take several nail-biting minutes to fall.
