Showing posts with label knowledge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label knowledge. Show all posts

2014-01-30

Knowledge Really Is Power

It's been happening quite a bit recently.

Ever get the feeling that everything you're doing seems really easy or smooth? That's knowledge at work. It allows the completion of many tasks to become easier. The more knowledge you have, the more tasks that are available.

Originally, when I first thought of this post idea, the above was pretty much all that I wanted to write about. But, now I'm seeing another side to this story...

Maybe, when one has reached the point of everything being easy, it means that the person isn't being challenged anymore, thus isn't growing or learning... So, it might be time for a change.

Because, after all knowledge really is power. ;)

Random image by Schoolhouse Rocks!


~ Danial Goodwin ~



2013-12-31

Common Sense is Not Common

Not everybody has the same common sense as everybody else. Many people grow up in different environments with different experiences and knowledge learned.

I though that was common sense, but I guess not.

(This can even be extended to my favorite comic strip: Ten Thousand by XKCD)

~ Danial Goodwin ~



2013-12-23

Thoughts I Think-Thank-Thunk

(See post for some new ideas, start with #3 of 11)

First one, subconsciously thought from The Grinch, maybe, "stink, stank, stunk".

Another title I was thinking of was, "Thinks I Thought" instead of "Thoughts I Think". In modern American language, this is okay, enough.


3. How bouncy would a bounce house be inside another bounce house?
3.1. How bouncy would a bounce be if you bounced inside a bounce house inside a bounce house...?

2013-09-24

Jobs Are For People Without Direction

Jobs are for people without a lot of self-motivation, without direction/strive, and without confidence in themselves.

This sudden thought occurred to me when I was hearing about some different job positions and what they entailed.

People with a job want to be told what to do, whether they admit it or not.

Self-motivated, self-directed people with strive and confidence have the ability to take their lives wherever they want to go, and do whatever they want to do. Each of these attributes play a large part in being able to get things done.

Because I have lived like this throughout most of my life, combined with the love of learning, I have been able to amass a great deal of raw and technical knowledge that typically surpasses the average. Though, I am not an expert in any one subject, I typically think that I'm above average in many categories, but don't most people?
So, the mentality I prefer is to give others the benefit of the doubt. This keeps me in the learning/student frame of mind so that I may better think less critically and more constructively.

Once I put my mind to something, things happen. So, that's why I believe that I would easily excel at any job. Maybe that is why I choose to have none? Because they are too easy for me? Even at a really technical job, after one month on the job, with my self-motivation and drive, I would easily feel comfortable on the systems. If I spent 2-3 months on something, then I would be an expert-in-knowledge (as opposed to an expert-in-application, which would involve actually doing a lot more of use-cases/test-cases.).

Then again, if this is seen as a rant, then it is quite possible that I am bias. Just keep in mind though, that I never consider myself better than others and I don't like to do comparisons either.

I'd like to hear others' comments.

 - Danial Goodwin -
Indie Developer

ps - Corollary: Jobs can also be for people who want quick money. ;)



2013-07-17

Things People Should Know: Parkinson's Law Of Triviality

(For people that have to work in groups or have a "project manager")

Also sometimes referred to as the "Bike Shed Problem" or "bikeshedding".

This is the newest phenomenon that I have added to my great list of Things People Should Know. It is not a new concept (first mentioned in 1957) and I have known about it for awhile, but recently I have been noticing it more.

What is the Bike Shed Problem? Let me provide an example: (From Parkinson's book, as quoted in Wikipedia)

In the third chapter, "High Finance, or the Point of Vanishing Interest", Parkinson writes about a finance committee meeting with a three-item agenda.
The first is the signing of a £10 million contract to build a reactor, the second a proposal to build a £350 bicycle shed for the clerical staff, and the third proposes £21 a year to supply refreshments for the Joint Welfare Committee. 
The £10 million number is too big and too technical, and it passes in two minutes and a half.
The bicycle shed is a subject understood by the board, and the amount within their life experience, so committee member Mr. Softleigh says that an aluminium roof is too expensive and they should use asbestos. Mr. Holdfast wants galvanized iron. Mr. Daring questions the need for the shed at all. Mr. Holdfast disagrees. 
Parkinson then writes: "The debate is fairly launched. A sum of £350 is well within everybody's comprehension. Everyone can visualize a bicycle shed. Discussion goes on, therefore, for forty-five minutes, with the possible result of saving some £50. Members at length sit back with a feeling of accomplishment." 
Parkinson then described the third agenda item, writing: "There may be members of the committee who might fail to distinguish between asbestos and galvanized iron, but every man there knows about coffee – what it is, how it should be made, where it should be bought – and whether indeed it should be bought at all. This item on the agenda will occupy the members for an hour and a quarter, and they will end by asking the Secretary to procure further information, leaving the matter to be decided at the next meeting."

So, now that you know about Parkinson's Law Of Triviality, hopefully you will be able to better recognize when others do it and when you do it yourself. It is a natural thing to want to give input when you can, but don't let it become a hindrance to getting the most important things done.

If you know ultimately that a feature really doesn't matter, then make sure you work on the important stuff first. Also, be aware, don't always think you know better than others.

More Reading:
- Coding Horror
- Wikipedia

~ Simply Advanced ~



2013-07-11

Common Knowledge

I think there is a lot of "common knowledge" because of the people I hang out with. College-going people have different experiences than non-college individuals.

I can't say definitively whether or not going to college is most beneficial for individuals, it depends highly on a person's self-motivation and willingness to learn.

One of my favorite XKCD comics just happens to be about common knowledge: http://xkcd.com/1053/ (I've spread around this link so much that I have it memorized.)

~ Simply Advanced ~



2013-06-05

A Few Notes On Entrepreneuring

(The following list of notes on entrepreneuring and businesses are in no particular order. I probably could have titled this "Things to know/remember when building your business".)

Difference between a service company and a product company: The first is easily scalable.

Build something that does one thing really well.

Difference between a huge market and the right market.

Experience+knowledge >> knowledge. (Read: Experience and knowledge is much greater than just knowledge.)

"The trend is your friend" when asking for venture capital. Current trends: mobile, cloud, big data, and social.

--
Describe your service/product better. Better doesn't mean specific, it means making an impression. Ex: My service is the oracle of big data. The words you should use evolve with time and with usage by others. The best copy now should use just one of the following: comprehensive, genuine, convenient , accessible, prestigious, premier, pioneers, quality, we obsolete .

Other terms should be purposely excluded because they are either overused, not true, or sound templated: innovative, groundbreaking, fresh, leader, unique. It is tough to know which words to stay away from; you don't want to make people doubtful and put their defenses up. One tip is to keep up-to-date with everything investors, businesses, and consumers see.

I have much more to say about this, but it could take up at least two more long blog posts. Here's a small list of currently neutral descriptive words for your business: functional, effectively, revitalizes, the original. "My business is a multinational corporation" could mean that I run a website.)
--

Descriptions should appeal to each of the senses. (Copy is very important)

There are always tradeoffs. Know them.

"People who get MBAs learn how to draw timelines."

The ability to communicate effectively is your strongest asset.

When building for businesses, the ultimate goal is to either raise revenue or reduce costs.

"Engineers are not hired to create programs, they are hired to create business value."

Any more quick thoughts? What are your first thoughts? Then what are your second thoughts?
~ Simply Advanced ~



2013-06-04

Five Logical Fallacies That Make You Wrong More Than You Think

I don't always want to impress my thoughts unto others, I'd just prefer others to think for themselves and truly understand both/all sides of an argument/view better. That's why I'm not going to go into details of this article that I just read. It doesn't matter what the source is, just that it presents readers with another perspective.

Here are 5 Logical Fallacies That Make You Wrong More Than You Think:
1. We're Not Programmed to Seek "Truth," We're Programmed to "Win"
2. Our Brains Don't Understand Probability
3. We Think Everyone's Out to Get Us
4. We're Hard-Wired to Have a Double Standard
5. Facts Don't Change Our Minds

Maybe, maybe not. But, it is a good read.

http://www.cracked.com/article_19468_5-logical-fallacies-that-make-you-wrong-more-than-you-think.html

~ Simply Advanced ~



2013-05-28

Stupidity Doesn't Mean Not Creative

"Stupidity" does not mean not creative. Intelligence-challenged (read: "dumb") individuals have the ability to uniquely think outside the box. They may be less knowledgeable about current paradigms (also read "facts") or they may not be limited by current paradigms at all. This leads to a different set of experiences for the individual to draw conclusions upon.

I bring this up [finally] because I like to think of all possible solutions and know how people think (Developers/Designs: Great for creating use-cases). Also, I believe creativity is very important in life. It helps us come up with solution to problems we've never seen before.

I have at least six other posts on creativity at the time of this writing.

~ Simply Advanced ~



2013-02-25

Inertia Dampeners

Re: Designing inetia dampeners.

First version would just be changing forward velocity to rotational energy. Or somehow, by moving forward, we could store a negative rotational energy. When stopping, apply a positive rotational energy and overall, not feel the effects of slowing down.

Most people who have heard of inertia dampeners may think of space ships in tv shows and movies. But, I want to apply inertia dampeners to vehicles here on Earth. For example, a car crash would be significantly less fatal if the effects of gravity and Newton's Laws of Motion weren't in play.

(I like to believe that technology and knowledge will eventually allow for great [current-]physics-law breaking.)

~ Simply Advanced ~



2012-09-15

Bookmark Motivation

Google Dashboard tells me I have 2630 bookmarks synced with Google. I am very surprised that I have this many webpages saved. The amount of folders I use makes it seem like I have maybe only a thousand bookmarks.

The main reason for this post: Looking through my huge list of bookmarks inspires/motivates me to do actual work. Bookmarks are a todo list for me. Eventually, I will know all the knowledge contained in them.

~ Simply Advanced ~