by Dwayne Phillips These inconvenient facts seem to be everywhere. They are inconvenient, however, only when we have a story to tell that denies reality. There are some old sayings like, “opinions being mugged by facts,” and “don’t confuse my opinion with facts,” and “there is nothing like facts getting in the way of my […]
Inconvenient Facts
July 18th, 2022 · No Comments
Tags: Analysis · Appearances · Communication · Data Science · Knowledge · Observation
Yes-No Questions
May 26th, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips The basic yes-no question is quite easy to answer. It is either “yes” or “no.” Recognizing the question is a bit more difficult, but not impossible. There is a type of question for which the answer is either “yes” or “no.” It is quite easy to answer as there are only two […]
Tags: Analysis · Communication · Conversation · Questions · Trust
Organized Disorganization
January 31st, 2022 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we “know where everything is” despite outward appearances. Sometimes we have “a place for everything and everything in its place.” Sometimes both ideas work. Sometimes neither work. Data is everywhere. Data is the new oil or bacon or pizza or something good or bad. The trouble with data is if I […]
Tags: Analysis · Data Science · Information · Knowledge · Research · Technology
Where are We Going? (Linear Regression)
December 6th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Linear Regression is an old, basic technique to predict the future given the past. It seems that its utility has been forgotten by many. How did we get here? Why didn’t anyone see this coming? These are a couple questions I heard recently when groups of persons gathered to discuss … well, […]
Tags: Accountability · Analysis · Change · Data Science · Economics · Estimation · Hope · Planning
Centralized vs. Disbursed
November 18th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips We revisit an old tradeoff that moves to a different dimension, but retains the tradeoff. In the early 1990s, (yes, I am that old) we had about a dozen different computing systems in a laboratory. On any given day, one of the dozen would be “down” for repair. Too bad, but we […]
Tags: Alternatives · Analysis · Choose · Decide · Security · Trust
Three More Explanations, Please
August 16th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Things are the way they are because… Fine. That is one explanation. Let’s have at least three more. Few things are as difficult as explaining why something is the way it is. We see more brown leaves on trees this year than we have in the past. Well, the reason is… Really? […]
Tags: Alternatives · Analysis · Concepts · Experiment · General Systems Thinking · Science
Question Asking
June 21st, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips The skill we should be teaching and learning and using more than any other today is question asking. We live in a world where all the questions have answers. We just have to find the answers. We have the facts, the data, the everything online in front of us. It is there. […]
Tags: Analysis · Data Science · Experiment · Learning · Questions
Standing on My Own Shoulders (?)
March 4th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I am pretty good at standing on the shoulders of others. Can I learn to stand on my own shoulders? I am pretty good at standing on the shoulders of others’. 1 Someone else works, works, and works to arrive at something. Whew. They are exhausted. 2 I read it. Aha! How […]
Tags: Analysis · Growth · Ideas · Learning
Bias in AI or Just Another Bad Idea?
February 18th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Once again, someone creates all sorts of fancy explanations for what was simply a bad idea poorly conducted. There seems to be a lot of “bias” in the machine learning area of artificial intelligence research and practice. Or can we explain the problems without using such fancy terms like “bias?” What were […]
Tags: Analysis · General Systems Thinking · Management · Problems · Process · Science · Systems
Who Called First?
January 14th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Who wants whom? Who wants someone else’s attention or expertise? People tend to forget the answers. You called me. We called him. These mean something—important. We called him. We want his time, attention, expertise—we want something he has and we don’t have. The same when you call me. You want something of […]