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 […]
Centralized vs. Disbursed
November 18th, 2021 · No Comments
Tags: Alternatives · Analysis · Choose · Decide · Security · Trust
There are Always Trade-Offs
November 11th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Have a direction? What did we lose in choosing it? Sorry, we traded something for something else. We lost something. I am never supposed to write “never” and “always.” And there is always an exception to all rules. Hence, the title of this post. I have yet to find a perfect solution […]
Tags: Alternatives · Choose · Decide · Management · Questions
No-Cost Learning
October 4th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I find it unfortunate, but no-cost learning doesn’t exist. I guess this goes back to the concept of if it is worth something, it is worth something. No-cost learning? Boy, I sure do want that! Free online courses have a price tag of $0. They do, however, require time, energy, and other […]
Tags: Choose · Learning · Resources · Teaching
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 […]
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 […]
Tags: Choose · Design · Engineering · General Systems Thinking · Questions
Programming Languages for Artificial Intelligence
August 9th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips We used to discuss this topic, but with different choices. Time passes. People discuss this on the Internet. Today’s question is “R or Python?” Good grief, two interpreted languages that run slow. But they are good for prototyping things, bringing in mammoth libraries, and writing useful things in ten lines of code. […]
Tags: Choose · Data Science · General Systems Thinking · Programming · Research · Thinking
“Meetings”
July 8th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I love meetings. They are fun. At least the meetings I attend. Why attend any other kind? There are many types of gatherings that we call “meetings.” That is a disservice to the English language and to the “meeting.” My little work group has a daily “meeting.” I love it. I laugh […]
Tags: Choose · Communication · Fun · Meetings · Work
The Age of Algorithms (a convenient excuse)
July 5th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Sorry folks, “the algorithm found the answer that I used” is just another excuse. We choose what to do one way or another. “The computer made me do it!” Well, actually it was the algorithm underlying the software that runs on the computer. Hmmm. Who built the computer? Who created the algorithm? […]
Tags: Alternatives · Choose · Decide · Design · Excuses · Tools
Our Reaction to…
May 20th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Once again, its not the event, its our reaction to the event. Here is an exercise in reading news headlines. Read the headlines (these are paraphrased from the Washington Post on one day): Virus tied to increased risk of neurological and psychiatric illness The pandemic has caused parents to slow down Expanding […]
Tags: Adults · Alternatives · Choose · Management · Reaction · Reframe
The Tidal Decision-Making Technique
April 12th, 2021 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes decisions just sort of drift in and out with the tides. The tide comes in; the tide goes out. Sometimes we find something that drifted in with the tide and remains on the beach. The next day, the next cycle or two of tides, and that something is gone. It was […]
Tags: Choose · Decide · Judgment · Lifecycle · Management