by Dwayne Phillips We can have too many people in the room to discuss something. We can also become locked in an inner circle where no one else understands what we are doing. There should be a balance. There are too many people in the room: Twenty people (pick a number) is too many. There […]
The Inner Circle Versus Too Many People in the Room
September 2nd, 2024 · No Comments
Tags: Analysis · Communication · Concepts · Ideas · Management · Meetings
Popular Vocabulary
August 29th, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips It is easy to use vocabulary that is popular at this moment. It is a bit more difficult to explain the situation in plain English. That exercise, however, is often well worth the effort. Here is some popular vocabulary in the endeavor of software development: It’s nice to toss out one or […]
Tags: Communication · Concepts · Expertise · Knowledge · Reframe · Vocabulary · Word
It’s All Written Except for the Words
August 15th, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I have a concept, an idea, just the right thing. Now “all I have to do” is put it into words. I have a great idea. Here, you write it up and we’ll share the money.—Many a person who thinks they are a great thinker. A famous author (I can’t think of […]
Tags: Concepts · Ideas · Thinking · Work · Writing
Time to Write
May 16th, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Many people struggle to find that elusive “time to write.” Others struggle to find to do anything else but write. Some people try in vain to find that elusive “time to write.” Something else is always in the way. This happens; that happens, and the time to write is not there. Fatigue […]
Tags: Choose · Communication · Concepts · Reading · Time · Writing
Like Us or Like Some of Us
March 11th, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips We want AI systems to act like us. Or do we? Perhaps we want AI systems to act like some of us. But who is “us” and who is “not us?” Testing shows that the latest and greatest large language models will generate bad information about political campaigns. That is wrong; those […]
Tags: Artificial Intelligence · Censorship · Computing · Concepts · General Systems Thinking · Systems
Large Language Models and Adults
February 1st, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Large Language Models appear to have all sorts of problems. I wonder why companies that build such don’t hire adults to help build them. I recently learned that large language models (LLMs) have “sleeper agents” in them. Given some inputs, the LLM starts doing crazy things that it shouldn’t do. Gosh. LLMs […]
Tags: Adults · Artificial Intelligence · Computing · Concepts · Engineering · General Systems Thinking · Testing
Poisoned Machine Learning
January 29th, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips We have yet another problem with machine learning. This one, however, has an easy solution. Several years ago I wrote of a fundamental problem with machine learning. I guess we have yet another problem being called “poisoned” machine learning. With poisoning, someone knows that I am about to “learn the machine” something […]
Tags: Analysis · Artificial Intelligence · Concepts · Data Science · Machine Learning
In Praise of the Table
May 11th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips In which I consider what is the ultimate purchase for the home, family, and home business: the table. Consider the humble flat horizontal surface. Narrow the consideration to the kitchen table with four chairs. A quick search shows plenty of choices from $100 on up. Let’s settle for $150. A family eats […]
Tags: Adults · Authentic · Concepts · Conversation · Economics · Family · General Systems Thinking
Do and Claim, in That Order
March 6th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips There are many endeavors in which it is important to do something before talking about doing it. Have an idea for a book? Great. Don’t pitch the idea to publishers. They will expect you to come back with 90% of the book in hand. Then they will talk to you about you […]
Tags: Concepts · Ideas · Intellectual Property · Resources · Stories · Tools · Work
50% is Not One Half
February 27th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips A review of percent may surprise some. Sorry about that. Use this information cautiously. I recently read a contract that purported to calculate 50% of 50%. That struck me as odd, so given too much time on my hands, I thought about it a while. Warning: thinking about basic things for a […]
Tags: Approximation · Concepts · Data Science · Mathematics