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Entries from September 2021

Where is Their Energy?

September 30th, 2021 · No Comments

Dwayne Phillips We can tell when we have affected another person by observing their energy. One of the better questions to ask when trying to convince or teach or somehow affect another person is, “When do they gain energy?” Consider: At what point does the other person change their posture? That is the energy. That […]

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Tags: Change · Energy · Influence · Notice · Observation · Reaction · Visibility

What is Wrong with This?

September 27th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips If I cannot think of three things wrong with my latest great idea, I am not thinking enough. Great ideas. I get lots of ’em. Great successes? Not so many. And why not? Because most of my “great ideas” have problems, many problems. If I spent a little time trying to find […]

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Tags: General Systems Thinking · Ideas · Problems · Thinking

RISC, CISC, and General Systems Thinking

September 23rd, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Reduced complexity optimizes for simplicity. Increased complexity optimizes for simplicity in another form. Which simplicity is “best” is a matter of situation. Apple has recently moved to their own “Apple Silicon” processors. In general terms, Apple switched from Intel’s processors to ARM’s processors. ARM processors are a form of RISC. Intel processors […]

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Tags: Choose · Computing · General Systems Thinking · Systems · Technology

Does it Have a USB Port?

September 20th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Every generation has a default question that hearkens backwards. These can be quite irritating, but return the evolutionary thinker to earth. And that is needed. Way back in the 1990s, the world was crawling out of one generation of computing into another. No matter what great new thing there was, there was […]

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Tags: Choose · Design · Engineering · General Systems Thinking · Questions

Some Thoughts on Restoring Trust

September 16th, 2021 · No Comments

By Dwayne Phillips Restoring trust in something called a shared reality won’t be easy. Or will it be so simple that it won’t be easy? Here is a suggestion. “We’ve lost a shared reality.” I heard this in a recent presentation. I’m afraid I lost the reference, so I cannot give due credit to the […]

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Tags: Ethics · Fable · Integrity · Trust

Wrapped in Plastic

September 13th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips We decide that, “We will stop this and never do it again.” That holds until we discover “this” and “it” are necessary. I flew to California recently. On the flight, instead of giving us a bag of pretzels, they gave us a clear plastic bad that had a small clear plastic bottle […]

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Tags: Change · Decide · Emergency · Time · Virus · Wealth

You Should Not Have Told Me That

September 9th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips If you want something in return for something, state that contract first. Person A: Guess what? blah blah blah. Person B: Oh my goodness. Person A: You can’t tell anyone what I just told you. Person B: Why not? Person A: Because. Person B: You should have stated the non-disclosure agreement before […]

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Tags: Agreement · Commitment · Conversation · Ethics · Trust

Change Changes Things

September 6th, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips As much as we might not want to admit it, when one change occurs, everything in that system changes. Tech workers, who can work from anywhere, are moving to places with a lower cost of living and hence increasing their quality of life. This raises the average salary in those lower-cost-of-living places. […]

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Tags: Change · General Systems Thinking · Hope · Systems · Wishes

The Essence of Data Science (attempt #2)

September 2nd, 2021 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips After a few more years, I think I understand the essence of Data Science. It isn’t that complicated. I wrote a post in November of 2020 attempting to describe the essence of data science. A few thoughts came to me recently. So here goes another attempt. A person has a large amount […]

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Tags: Computing · Data Science · Questions · Science · Time