As some of you know, a paradiddle is a drumming rudiment. The point of it is to practice even tempo and rhythm even if you are doing something a little counterintuitive with your hands. Rather than strike the drum Left-Right-Left-Right-Left-Right, the paradiddle goes Left-Right-Left-Left-Right-Left-Right-Right, repeated over and over, without a break, until, as Arthur Dent might have said, you’ve had enough.

If you haven’t done it before, try it now, with your fingers against the table if you don’t have a convenient drum and sticks. It’s surprisingly tricky to get an even beat. But you get a glow of achievement when you get near it; and you also now know what a paradiddle is.