Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

It seems we haven’t learned much as we still read stuff that makes no sense.

A long time ago, I heard a political commentator read part of a political party’s platform. Parties used to do these platforms to inform everyone of what they were saying. The commentator would read a sentence and then remark, “This is amazing. All these words are in the dictionary!”

What did the words mean? Nothing. In my research on this phrase, I found, “Vagueness is a failure of intent. It is a deliberate, highly calculated use of perfect grammar to say absolutely nothing.”

Aha, use words (all of whom are in the dictionary) to say nothing.

Alas, I haven’t read any party platforms recently. Do they still do that? Some companies have their manifestos or policy statements, but I haven’t seen any platforms lately. Still, I read many things. I work in and around our Federal government. I have read too many things where most (not all, but most) of the words were in the dictionary. The documents said nothing.

Must we do this? Must we engage in this foolishness? Come on folks, we can do better. Let’s do better.

by Dwayne Phillips

Let’s turn these nouns into verbs. Let’s not.

We are going to modernize the application to optimize it and maximize our efforts. — Wrote someone who shouldn’t have been writing

In other words, we want maximum free time. Let’s make the application modern and optimal.

Turning a noun into a verb (I love this next part with all the fancy words) is called verbing or verbification. Some say that we nominalized the noun into a verb. Some say this is an anthimeria or functional shift (I really like that word, anthimeria). Of course these examples are affixations where we add the suffix -ize to the noun to make a verb.

Turning a noun into a verb is also called being lazy. There is a verb out there waiting to be used. Let’s find it and use it. We could also simply say what we want to say using the nouns as nouns. That’s what I did in the example above. Not enough long and fancy words? Oh well.

We can do better. Let’s do better.

by Dwayne Phillips

Just use those other words.

“In other words…,” spoken by someone frustrated with their attempts to write or speak.

“What I’m trying to say is…,” also spoken by someone frustrated with their attempts to write or speak.

There is something about communicating in either the written or spoken word. After fumbling, grumbling, and doing everything else that rhymes with -umbling, the person blurts, “In other words …” What follows are golden words that communicate thoughts.

Great! The frustrated and flustered person had the right words. Throw away all that other stuff and use those words.

“But I spent so much time on those words.” So what, toss them.

“But my boss expects two pages and I can’t just turn in three sentences.” Yes, you can.

Simply use the other words. Simply use the words that you are trying to say. It will be fine. Everyone will be happier.

by Dwayne Phillips

I just had a chattering bot filter through layers upon layers of a spreadsheet and provide the answer. After a moment, I realized I could have written a simple program to do that, but that was true for me, not everyone.

I just solved a problem with data presented in a spreadsheet. It was one of those, “For every case of X, find the rows that meet condition Y, then find the rows that further meet condition Z, then find the rows … and put the results in a table.

The spreadsheet had about 500 rows. I could have done this by hand, e.g., see this, then see that, then see the other things. I could have let Excel filter the data, then filter again, then … until I had an answer. Instead, I tried a chattering bot (names withheld to protect the guilty). I was able to find left-handed pitchers who struck out three batters on less than twelve pitches on the road when the game was after 9 p.m. and it was raining slightly.

Satisfied with how quickly I had solved a problem, I began to ponder the situation. I could have written a ten-line program to do that. Python would have been the choice for today (it is the Pascal of this century). The C programming language would have also worked. The list of languages that would have worked is quite long.

That, however, is me. I could have written a program to do this. Then again, I programmed a video game on a computer in 1978. I think everyone can write computer programs. Perhaps everyone can, but not everyone does. (Enough italics for one blog post.)

I suppose that is one of the great benefits of these chattering bots. Type what you want the computer to do in English. It happens. No extra training required. It happens. Life is easy or at least easier. Low code? Nope. This is no code. Okay, this wasn’t the most difficult problem in the world. This chattering bot did, however, save me a lot of time.

by Dwayne Phillips

I just thought things would be better if I took the role of … I was wrong. Why? I was just trying to … but no one asked me to.

I was just trying to assist the project manager. Our project manager is a good person who knows their job. There were, however, just a few little things I could see that if I would interject here and there all would be better. It all blew up. No one liked my “just a few little things.” Why not?

I was just trying to assist the writer. Our writer is a good person who knows their job. There were, however, just a few little things I could see that if I would interject here and there all would be better. It all blew up. No one liked my “just a few little things.” Why not?

I was just trying to make the workplace a little more peaceful. Our workplace is good with good people who know their jobs. There were, however, just a few little squabbles I could see that if I would interject a few little things here and there all would be better. It all blew up. No one liked my “just a few little things.” Why not?

I could go on with this list. Help the decorations team who were working on the conference room Help the testing team. Help the choir director. Help the fill-in-the-blank who was doing a good job but needed a few little suggestions on just a few little things.

One of the problems is that no one asked me to suggest just a few little things. No one asked me to “help” them at all. But I have the best intentions and everyone can see that and just a little…

Nope. When people ask is one thing. Everything else is something else.

by Dwayne Phillips

As much as we “have a better idea” and want to revise, sometimes the first version is the best.

The first draft. The bane of writers of fiction and non-fiction. Let’s fix it. Okay. That’s the first version. Let’s revise as we become “smarter.” Are we always becoming smarter? Sometimes not.

The first draft. That’s the poison pill of writing for many of us. Okay, fix it. Now we have the first version.

In my current job, teams of us are writing non-fiction. We have the first version. We have time before the writing is due. Hmm, I looked at this again and thought of something while driving to the office this morning. It would be better if… Repeat for ten days in a row. Now we are at version ten or twelve or something. Perhaps it is version 20. Anyways, who is counting? Every day brings better thoughts and the document is better and better.

Or is it?

It has to be. We become smarter every day.

Or do we?

Perhaps that is our ego telling us that of course we are smarter every day.

Or are we?

Perhaps. Perhaps not.

Sometimes the first version, written at a time when we are fresh and have clear insight, is the best version. Not the first draft (as I read back through this little five-paragraph piece I find errors) as it needs fixing. After the fixing, the first version is clean, fresh, and it has something innocent about it. There are no patches.

But, you know, just a little bit here and a little bit there and … we often have a patchwork quilt but the blue and the red are from different base colors (I think that is what they call it) and they just don’t go together.

Now what?

Here are two choices; no doubt there are more. (1) Go back to the first version and send it. (2) Go to a blank sheet (or screen or whatever we call it these days) and write from start to finish. Don’t look at the 20th version; don’t copy anything from that version (I hate to type again, surely copying won’t hurt, yes it will) write clean.

I have met writers who have been writing their novel for five years. Do they type slowly? No, they are on version 30 or something. I have met and read from writers who earn their living from writing novels and stories. Writing isn’t a part-time job. It is the full income, and the income is sufficient. They ship the first version and move on to the next piece in which they ship the first version and move on etc.

Sometimes the first version is the best version. That doesn’t seem right to many of us. Nevertheless, it is right. Let’s consider it.

by Dwayne Phillips

I would hope that journalists would understand AI and software better than this. I am disappointed.

Yet another story about AI written by the ignorant for the masses:

AI models that lie and cheat appear to be growing in number with reports of deceptive scheming surging in the last six months, a study into the technology has found.

Ah, yet another story about a programmer who didn’t adequately test the software they wrote. Software “scheming” and “deceiving?” And let’s not forget the “lying.” Good gosh, software that lies about its intentions. Software that has intentions of its own. Good grief.

The software did something the programmer didn’t intend. The board of inquiry, (we really don’t have boards of inquiry to grill programmers, but it sounds neat) asked the programmer questions. “I didn’t write that software to do that!” replies the programmer. Examination of the source code reveals, uh, well, yes, the instructions are there. The programmer needed a DWIM button (Do What I Mean). The programmer didn’t have a DWIM button. The computer performed as instructed.

“Let’s review the test procedure and test report,” says the board of inquiry.

“Well,” says the programmer while crouching lower in his chair in the middle of the room surrounded by the aged, wise, and vicious inquirers (again, we don’t really do this, but it makes for drama in a movie), “I sort of didn’t have a procedure and report, but I did test the software.”

AI models come from programs written by people. People test the programs a lot, a little, or not at all. There are methods of doing these things to prevent these headlines. Let’s do better.

And hey, you journalists and editors out there, do better.

by Dwayne Phillips

Endeavors have fine, precise adjustments. The details matter. There, however, is a time for details and fine, precise, adjustments. The early stages of work is not the time.

I wish I was smarter. I wish I knew all the details and adjustments and the little factors of success at the start of an effort. Alas, wishes are not reality. I am not that smart. I need time to learn. I need space for solutions that come when I know more.

Back in time, a person told me of a project where someone was specifying find adjustments at PDR (preliminary design review, something that occurs early in a project). That was way to early to be fine tuning solutions. There were too many unknowns. There was too much room for learning.

In my current job, I write documents that have strict limits on length. I have five pages for this and two pages for that. I don’t know what I am doing. I will learn as we go along. I draft four pages for this a one-and-a-half pages for that. I leave room for learning. Time will teach me. Then I will fill the blank spaces.

This is humility. I wish I was smart enough to draft a complete document with all the details. Alas, I am not. Leave space. Leave time for learning. We can do better.

by Dwayne Phillips

We have a new twist on the old excuse, “My dog ate my homework.”

That excuse about the dog and the homework goes back to 1905 (some sources report, but then again, there may be earlier instances, but the dog ate the stories and …). John Steinbeck even said that his dog ate the first draft of “Of Mice and Men.” If the excuse was good enough for Steinbeck, well …

Anyways, a student does his homework on a laptop computer. The student later has an AI Agent (we have to use Agents as they are spiffier versions of plain old AI) optimize his laptop computer for some gallant task that deserves optimization. The ever so earnest and eager AI Agent removes the homework file as it is deemed a waste of something or other and therefore a hindrance to optimization.

The honest student goes to the teacher and states quite truthfully, “AI ate my homework.”

The teacher, experienced and dubious, isn’t convinced.

“I’m not making this up,” pleads the student (who doesn’t know how to talk without ending a sentence with a preposition; I digress).

The teacher, knowing the truthfulness of the student, relents and grants an extension to the exercise, ending with, “Print your homework the second you finish it so you have proof in your hands.”

Ah, we return to paper and proof. Let AI just try to reach out of that computer and shred the paper.

Then again, keep the dog away from the paper.

by Dwayne Phillips

We never run out of excuses. Well, if we ever come close to the end of the list, we can add AI.

Microsoft had a mistake. No worry as mistakes can be corrected. The source of the mistake? Well, people are always the source of mistakes, but now we can blame AI.

You see, Copilot (Microsoft’s entry into the list of current AI systems) added some code to something or other and that AI code ran the system off the rails or somewhere unintended. If it weren’t for that darn AI, we wouldn’t have this problem.

Any people involved? Of course there were. Let’s have their names so we can shame them publicly or something like that. No wait, let’s shame Copilot.

Shame on you Copilot!

Hmm, that is satisfying in a way, but sort of hollow. Of course there are nameless people here. We all make mistakes. We try to correct them before something truly bad happens. Why the mistake? Answering, “Because I’m human,” doesn’t seem to quench the thirst of the blamer. Oh, but if we can name something specific like COPILOT DID IT! Well, now that is satisfying.

People write software. People call software to do things. Sometimes people don’t test software enough to find and fix mistakes. We can do better.