Perspectives on DevOps, Technology, Science, Philosophy, and Society
Science and Philosophy articles. Pieces i’ve written or read, that have interested me at one time or another.
Warning, the following might be considered an exercise in mental, <ahem>.. recreation. Still with all the talk these days around artificial intelligence, the speed at which the field of AI research is growing and the benefits and potential risks of artificial intelligence in …
The Evolution of AI: Quantum Intelligence, And What It Means For Humanity Read more »
The universe is accelerating away from the center of the Big Bang. The universe is cooling down, because galaxies are moving away from each other. The number of stars in the sky will diminish over time, there will eventually be …
Our Galaxy is a Seed that Will Eventually Grow into it’s Own Universe Read more »
It doesn’t matter whether you are a senior engineer, a team lead, or an IT manager – eventually you will encounter the situation. A meeting or discussion that becomes slightly more animated than usual. Opinions are strong, and it is …
Expressing Your Authority May Be Working Against You Read more »
Cross-post from LinkedIn, in response to How Seeking ‘Free’ Works Against Our Career Success: I cannot completely agree here. There are many who offer free advice that also happens to be good advice. Alternatively, it is important for advice seekers …
Cross-post from LinkedIn, in response to Stephen Hawking: Black Holes May Not Have ‘Event Horizons’ After All: So relevant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXh9RQCvxmg Stephen Colbert interviews Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. The entire interview (starts about 6 mins in) is just a wholly wonderful …
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life …
“Time passes so quickly. Minutes are like seconds. Hours fly by in a wink. Responsibilities are inherited, expanded. Your self-image pushes you forward to embrace the challenge. Thinking becomes a luxury. Quick fixes and band-aid solutions become the norm. There …
Last night I attended a talk given by Dr. Damian Conway (of Perl Best Practices fame) titled “Fun With Dead Languages“. Although this is a talk that Damian had given previously, it is the first time that I heard it, …
Cross-post from LinkedIn, in response to Maybe Big Brother Isn’t As Bad as You Think: “This is a future Orwell could not have predicted. And Big Brother may turn out to be a pretty nice guy.” I respectfully disagree. As …
On January 28th, at around 5am EST, the newest member of our family was born. Weighing in at around 6lbs 3oz, and just under 20 inches in length; our daughter, Phoebe Isabelle Lopez, arrived into our world.. and we couldn’t …
Please join us in welcoming the newest member of our family! Read more »
If you and your team, in 2013, are still sharing Microsoft Office (Word, Excel) documents via internal corporate e-mail, I’ve got news for you. You’re doing it wrong. “Live documents” are documents that are actively being updated and collaborated …
Why You Shouldn’t be Sharing “Live” Documents by E-mail Read more »
I’ve been to many team meetings (or “all hands”) that have, in the end, provided no real value to the team in attendance. It is very possible (and likely quite common) that most meetings are actually a waste of time …
It is amazing to me how far we have come technologically, yet we are still so far away from being able to record experiences with any degree of accuracy. It is the experiences that we have that make us who …
It’s occurred to me fairly often of the past several years that the reason why democracy doesn’t achieve ideal results is simply because most voters are ill-informed about the real issues facing the world; and not just the issues being …
People Aren’t Smart Enough for Democracy to Flourish, Scientists Say Read more »
Ever feel like you’re in a position to make a decision where there can be no reasonably useful or positive outcome? Ever feel like the the choice in front of you will simply lead to misery (or at very least, …
Are your feelings as important as those of others around you? Should they be? Read more »
Ars Technica recently talked to Michael Geist, a legal scholar at the University of Ottawa, about this effort. He told us that rather than making their arguments at the World Intellectual Property Organization, where they would be subject to serious …
ACTA is part of a multi-decade, worldwide copyright campaign Read more »
Larry Smith, economics instructor at the University of Waterloo, gives a very moving lecture to both educate and inspire upcoming graduates on the reason why most of them will fail to have a great career. He doesn’t come right out …
TEDxUW – Larry Smith – Why you will fail to have a great career Read more »
[techweekeurope.co.uk] UK Government To Demand Data On Every Call And Email Plans could force ISPs and phone operators to hand over records on all phone calls, emails, Tweets and Facebook messages [telegraph.co.uk] Phone and email records to be stored in …
UK Government To Demand Data On Every Call And Email Read more »
Here is a wonderful poem that I remember from my childhood. Although many of the things that we learn in school as children are akin to shrink-wrapped airplane food, there are some juicy bits of wisdom that are worth taking …
Stop And Smell The Roses, But Be Wary of The Road Yet Travelled Read more »
Danny Hillis gives us a summary of the evolution of humanity and technology, and outlines a clear pattern, that gives us insight into how the future of humanity and technology could potentially unfold going forward. http://video.ted.com/talk/stream/1994/Blank/DannyHillis_1994-320k.mp4
I have just finished reading The Book.. On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are by Alan Watts. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! It comes as close as I can imagine to a book that helps its reader truly understand …
Just finished “The Book” by Alan Watts. I like it. Read more »
“… To most of us living today, all these fantasies of the future seem most objectionable: the loss of privacy and freedom, the restriction of travel, and the progressive conversion of flesh and blood, wood and stone, fruit and fish, …
[Quote] Alan Watts on the difference between where we are, and where we are going.. Read more »