Working Up

By Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we need to remind ourselves what it is that computers can and cannot do. Computers are taking over the world. Well, maybe not. Let’s recall what a computer can do. A computer can tell if a light bulb is on or off. That’s about it folks. Nothing more. Everything else is […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Someone will take the next great solution and turn it into the next great problem. I am pretty sure that today someone will arrive with the next great solution. That will solve some great problem that has plagued us far longer than plaguing should have plagued us. Then, some time after now, […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Data seems to be opposite of everything else when it comes to saving it, using it, and producing value. When we use things, they lose value. Drive a car a thousand miles and its loses value, i.e., no one will pay as much for a car with 1,000 miles as they will […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Just because something survived and thrived doesn’t mean it was a good idea. There are other explanations. Good ideas bubble to the top. Market success shows those good ideas. Bad ideas fizzle. They don’t make it anywhere. Well, maybe these statements are true, but maybe the aren’t. I see things that have […]

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by Dwayne Phillips In order to move on with other matter, from time to time we accept approximations and use them. That is fine as long as we acknowledge such. Water boils at 212° F. Well, sort of. There have been many experiments performed on various things we call “water.” When is “water” really “water” […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Should we be using systems engineering on this project? Here is a simple test. I think systems engineering is useful and brings many benefits. That is why I wrote a short book on the topic. The book is free here. Should we be using systems engineering on this project? Here is The […]

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by Dwayne Phillips When the terrain and the map differ, believe the terrain. It is there in front of us. We ignore this at our peril. We have a telephone (at least I still do in my home) and a smartphone. We call both of them “phones.” Their names are the same. How we represent […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Most systems “work” as we intend when enough people want them to. Those people cooperate with the system and one another. Democracy works because people want it to. There is much freedom in democratic systems. That freedom works because people want it to. People realize the value of the freedom and don’t […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Data entry, one of the lower-paid professions, is prone to errors, and some can be fatal. During the aftermath of the recent Hurricane Ida, a person close to me needed an essential service. By “essential” I mean if the service did not arrive, someone would die. I repeatedly called the service provider. […]

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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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