Why Bother?
My sister-in-law’s Starbucks order is something like “Venti non-fat decaf low-foam not-too-hot lactose free artificially sweetened latte.” I’ll concede that we all have different reasons for doing what we do, but I’m sure Starbucks could simplify things by adding a drink to the menu dubbed the “Why Bother?” I can visualize a whole new line […]
Good Enough
In my very first job as a young engineer fresh out of college, I worked under an old, curmudgeonly manager who was approaching retirement. Bob (his real name) was an anxious chain-smoker, in the days when smoking in the office was allowed. For all his idiosyncrasies, he taught me some important lessons about “thinking outside […]
The Ultimate Guide to Power and Influence: Everything You Need to Know by Robert L. Dilenschneider – A Review
The thought of someone who seeks power and influence brings forth images of one who is greedy, immodest, inflexible and insincere. The Ultimate Guide to Power and Influence by Robert L. Dilenschneider works against this stereotype as the author describes how to position yourself to gain power and influence, what to do with it when […]
Strategy in the Digital Age: Mastering Digital Transformation by Michael Lenox – A Review
Technological progress is rapid and accelerating. Biologist Paul Ehrlich reassures us that as long as the human brain is setting the pace, we needn’t fear – basic human intelligence has remained the same for thousands of years. On the other hand, Singularity Theory (e.g., I. J. Good 1965) warns that Artificial Intelligence could beget machines […]
Atoms and Beer
As the story goes, there once was an engineer who claimed to have the best job in the world. When asked why it was so great, he replied “My work is so far-out that even my boss doesn’t understand it. When I tell him what an awesome job I am doing, he has no choice […]
You Are Not Special
Linus Benedict Torvalds is special. If you’re not sure why, allow me to issue a prompt – Linux. Linus is the Finnish software engineer widely recognized for creating the open-source computer OS which led to the ubiquitous Linux kernel. For programmers collaboratively developing source code, he also invented Git, a version control system for tracking […]
Chaos Always Wins
The laws under which we live serve to guard our general safety and protect us from harm by other members of our community. Some have changed over time to reflect differences between our modern society, and that of 1789 when our Constitution was born. We are similarly governed by the laws of physics which, except […]
What is Your Job?
In William Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It, the character Jaques has no job in the plot- he only provides wry comment on the others. Most of us have worked with people like this. Jacques is remembered for the iconic line, “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players…”. If […]
The Time-Delay Life
I love watching football. It is by far my favorite game on TV. The display of athleticism and skill, the sophistication of the plays, and the strategic battle between opposing coaches all captivate me. Thanks to modern technology, my wristwatch will even prompt me with scoring updates from my favorite teams when I am unable […]
Introducing ChatGPT
The first chatbot was ELIZA, created in 1966 by computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum at MIT. ELIZA was designed to simulate a psychotherapist in natural language conversations and was based on pattern matching and substitution methods. ELIZA was designed to simulate a psychotherapist as a way to demonstrate the power of computer language processing. Joseph Weizenbaum […]
