Take two bricks. One is a real cinder brick, the other is a styrofoam brick painted grey to look like the other brick.
At an appropriate point, you pick up the styrofoam brick, pretending it's a real brick, and throw it at someone in the front row. Done right, the victim (and everyone else) believes a ~10 pound cinder brick is flying at them. In our class, the girl's reaction was to bat at the brick with both hands. Of course, it went flying, and she (and most of the rest of us) stared at it in shock for a couple seconds before figuring out what had happened.
I've got one pair of eyes. Contacts are a daily annoyance, but with them my vision is perfect and I normally experience no discomfort. I'm not going to take the chance on permanently damaging my vision. Plus, contact lens developments such as hyper-oxygen transmissible lenses are allowing extended continuous wear (30 days), reducing the annoyance to a barely perceptible level.
Thanks for the informed reply. I didn't know the Dresden fab was so current (not saying I thought they were "old and busted" either, to borrow one of my favorite lines from MIB II). I'll still say IBMs plant is more advanced, but it sounds like it's not enough of an advance to make it worthwhile for AMD to fab there.
Sounds like there's a burgeoning market opportunity for high-strength CDs. I predict them to appear within the next year, as 72x and 84x drives become possible.
First, a correction - I meant Hammer, not Thoroughbred.
And, there's nothign wrong with AMD using its own plants. IBMs new plant would be nice to use because of its capabilities. It would give Hammer higher clock speek and/or lower temperature.
IIRC AMD used to use IBM to manufacture its parts, so there's precedent.
Unfortunately, it seems the general populace's behavior is based on the preconception that they deserve a completely safe, secure world in which they can get whatever they want. And that anything which might possibly threaten that safe, secure world must be eradicated, and if something bad does happen, well, someone is at fault and must be punished.
The "if it saves ONE LIFE, it's worth it!" causes are perhaps the best example of this. They seem to forget that there is always a price for that one life. And sometimes, that price is pretty high.
There's sometimes an awfully fine line between "taking advantage of a flaw in the system to earn money", and "taking advantage of a flaw in the system to harm others".
This can also be termed cooperative vs. competitive, or win-win vs. win-lose. There are lots of people who don't understand or use a win-win, cooperative philosophy. So we have people taking advantage of the current patent situation to unfairly profit at others' expense, even though there is almost always a better (more ethical) way to do business.
It's not that technology and computers are any more or any less fun... it's that as you get older and more mature, they don't have the same importance and value.
Ten years ago, I kept up with and was excited by every new piece of WonderGadgetry to come out. Nowadays, once in a while there will be something that I'll go "Wow, cool!" -- but most of the time I hardly notice.
I don't own a PDA or cellphone. My home computer (note the singular) is a borrowed company laptop. My TV is several years old, and I don't have a DVD player (though Santa will probably have one for me this year).
I still get a kick out of programming though. So I can still be a geek... right? [looks pleadingly at the rest of the Slashdot audience]
I order a medium Coke and medium popcorn. I'm invariably asked if I'd like the large for just-25-cents-more. I'm invariably tempted to reply, "No thanks, I'm here to see a movie, not visit the restroom".
In flow, I'm aware of reality, but not in a conscious way. It's a state where the "thinking, rational, conscious mind" has stepped aside and the "reactive, reflexive mind" has taken over. I've experienced this while coding, reading, watching a really good movie, and gaming.
When a neuron "fires", nearby neurons will in turn fire; they will trigger other neurons, etc. etc. Whether or not a particular neuron will fire in response to its neighbor's firing is dependent partially (largely?) on how strong the connection between those neurons is. A repeated experience strengthens the connections between sets of neurons, creating an "open channel" of neural connections in your brain. The more frequent or intense the experience, the stronger the connections become, and the easier it becomes to trigger the neurons involved.
So "flow state" is the repeated, near-effortless firing of a set of neural pathways that have been strongly connected by repeated experience. So strongly connected, in fact, that a tiny stimulus causes them to fire, in effect bypassing the "thinking" part of the brain.
It's like a reflex. When you touch a hot stove, you pull your hand back before you're consciously aware you touched a hot stove. When an enemy character appears on the screen, you shoot them before you consciously are aware that they were there. A tenth of a second later, as you're watching the gibs scatter, you become aware that you shot them. And then you might think to yourself, "Wow, it's like I shot him before I even knew he was there!" And in a way, you did.
The point isn't getting it "right"; usually there's many solutions (sometimes there are none). The point is for the interviewer to get an idea of how well you think. Can you think creatively? Can you justify your reasoning? Can you ask for more information if you need it? Etc.
BTW, this particular problem is the core of a wonderful little story called "Hellhole", by David Gerrold. The protagonist (an alien spaceship captain from a world unfamiliar with "burning" as we know it) figures out how to save herself by starting a back fire.
I'd like to know more about why you consider Java the "worst of both" (C++ vs. PHP). I've used all three, and my experience has been that all three have strengths and weaknesses.
What kind of software have you worked on with Java, C++, and PHP? In what environments? What type of hardware?
(This isn't a troll, BTW, I am always interested in alternative viewpoints. I often learn something interesting, and sometimes re-evaluate my own perspective.)
Yes. I have ex-coworkers who are in a very XP environment. Things they have learned include:
- XP is very tactical. You need someone at the strategic level guiding and leading. - Productivity drops significantly after about 40 hours per week (they collect detailed statistics about defect rates showing this). - Individual productivity appears to suffer, but the result of pair programming and short (two-week for them) iterations results in code that is easy to work on (read: good design) and very low on bugs (read: well written).
They've put a lot of support around their XP team to make XP effective, in the form of tools, processes, and people (roles). Without that, I suspect they would be disorganized and chaotic.
There's a time and a place for just about every methodology out there. XP is an effective approach to development as long as it's done in the right environment by people who understand (or can learn) how to make it work for them.
I've found lots of possible causes, listing what I can think of at random:
Burnout. Solution: take a vacation during which you do as little as possible. Get your mind back in working order. Enjoy yourself.
Stress. This could be work stress, or personal-life stress. I'm fighting a lot of both right now. Solutions: one, find a (healthy) way -- or ways -- to relieve the stress. For me, it's a combination of relaxing, physical activity, and giving myself little treats. This doesn't address "root cause", but it makes life much more bearable and helps give you the energy to carry on. A vacation can be a temporary help here too, but it's a bandaid -- it won't solve the issues causing you stress. Two, think about what's causing the stress. It's either something you can do something about, or it's something you can do nothing about. If it's the former, do what you can. If it's the latter, forget about it. If it's the "I'm afraid [something bad] is going to happen" anxiety, come up with a couple of strategies for handling that situation. Just having a plan helps. Finally, sometimes you can change your attitude -- the way you think about the thing that's causing you stress. Sometimes this is just taking a new perspective: yes, it would be a bummer if you get laid off -- it's not a great time to be looking for work. But it's not such a big deal compared to, say, being in a car accident and losing two fingers.
The work is "stupid", "boring", a "waste of time", etc. The problem here is one of rewards. You get paid for being at work and getting the job done... but that's sometimes not enough motivation to actually do the work. Solution: set up your own reward system. For example, saying Okay, I'll work on this for two hours, and then I'm gonna browse Slashdot for twenty minutes. If you have a good manager, maybe he can help here -- for instance by giving you something more interesting to work on.
Getting overwhelmed. You have so much on your plate you don't even know where to start, and it feels like there's no point in starting because you'll never get it cleared. Solution: first, accept that the plate will never be cleared. Second, accept that this is not just okay, but it's perfectly normal. Third, work with your manager to prioritize your tasks and time. If he can't/won't help, come up with your own scheme. If it doesn't work, your manager will come around and help:). Fourth, break things down into tasks that are do-able in a "unit-of-effort" timespan that works for you -- whether it's two hours or two days.
Depression. Go see a therapist or psychologist. In fact, a therapist can be an awfully good idea regardless of what you think is the cause of your "anti-zone". Forget about the stereotypes and the fear of being stigmatized. There are people out there who can figure out your brain and improve how it works just like you or I can work on a program. (Well, just like I can; I don't know about your coding skills....;-) And that's actually a pretty apt analogy: they can help you debug, optimize, and rewrite the code that runs your brain.
Whew. Well, hope you get something useful out of all that.:)
Uh, the relationship between the green confetti and the yellow metal no longer exists. As of a few decades ago. The green pieces of paper only have value because people generally agree that a certain amount of the green paper can be exchanged for a certain amount of stuff. Some people get very upset because they think they are giving up too much green paper in exchange for the stuff. Some people get upset because they can't get other people to give up more green paper in exchange for their stuff. This general disillusionment with the way things ought to be versus the way they are is called 'capitalism'. It's a horrible state of affairs, but it seems to be the best idea people have come up with so far about how to run things. Other ideas still exist, but have mostly fallen out of favor or are acceptable to only a handful of people.
There are four principals here: the author, the publisher, the bookseller, and the consumer. The economic dynamic between these groups is complex (though, like most complex things, defined by simple forces and relationships). The forces exerted between the parties results in a high degree of tension in the overall system. To a large degree, this high tension is the result of publishers increasing book prices (note I am not placing blame here or discussing the reasons for the increase). Consequently, just like any other system whose structure is established by strong opposing tension between elements, the publishing industry is ripe for a realignment of relationships and forces. The effect of Amazon.com's recent actions could trigger drastic change in the economics of the publishing industry. Publishers realize this and that is why they are screaming bloody murder.
Slashdot Mirror
The setup: a discussion about density.
Take two bricks. One is a real cinder brick, the other is a styrofoam brick painted grey to look like the other brick.
At an appropriate point, you pick up the styrofoam brick, pretending it's a real brick, and throw it at someone in the front row. Done right, the victim (and everyone else) believes a ~10 pound cinder brick is flying at them. In our class, the girl's reaction was to bat at the brick with both hands. Of course, it went flying, and she (and most of the rest of us) stared at it in shock for a couple seconds before figuring out what had happened.
-Thomas
Thanks for speaking up, paiute. It's posts like yours that make Slashdot a worthwhile place to hang out despite the ever-increasing s/n ratio.
-Thomas
I've got one pair of eyes. Contacts are a daily annoyance, but with them my vision is perfect and I normally experience no discomfort. I'm not going to take the chance on permanently damaging my vision. Plus, contact lens developments such as hyper-oxygen transmissible lenses are allowing extended continuous wear (30 days), reducing the annoyance to a barely perceptible level.
Consequently, for me the risk is too high.
-Thomas
You mean, "Linus Torvalds Himself".
(It's a joke son. Relax.)
Thanks for the informed reply. I didn't know the Dresden fab was so current (not saying I thought they were "old and busted" either, to borrow one of my favorite lines from MIB II). I'll still say IBMs plant is more advanced, but it sounds like it's not enough of an advance to make it worthwhile for AMD to fab there.
-Thomas
Only half-joking....
First, a correction - I meant Hammer, not Thoroughbred.
And, there's nothign wrong with AMD using its own plants. IBMs new plant would be nice to use because of its capabilities. It would give Hammer higher clock speek and/or lower temperature.
IIRC AMD used to use IBM to manufacture its parts, so there's precedent.
I'd like to see AMD produce the Thoroughbred at IBM's new 2.5B plant. That might give Intel some real competition.
-Thomas
You're not the only one that feels this away.
Unfortunately, it seems the general populace's behavior is based on the preconception that they deserve a completely safe, secure world in which they can get whatever they want. And that anything which might possibly threaten that safe, secure world must be eradicated, and if something bad does happen, well, someone is at fault and must be punished.
The "if it saves ONE LIFE, it's worth it!" causes are perhaps the best example of this. They seem to forget that there is always a price for that one life. And sometimes, that price is pretty high.
There's sometimes an awfully fine line between "taking advantage of a flaw in the system to earn money", and "taking advantage of a flaw in the system to harm others".
This can also be termed cooperative vs. competitive, or win-win vs. win-lose. There are lots of people who don't understand or use a win-win, cooperative philosophy. So we have people taking advantage of the current patent situation to unfairly profit at others' expense, even though there is almost always a better (more ethical) way to do business.
-Thomas
It's not that technology and computers are any more or any less fun... it's that as you get older and more mature, they don't have the same importance and value.
Ten years ago, I kept up with and was excited by every new piece of WonderGadgetry to come out. Nowadays, once in a while there will be something that I'll go "Wow, cool!" -- but most of the time I hardly notice.
I don't own a PDA or cellphone. My home computer (note the singular) is a borrowed company laptop. My TV is several years old, and I don't have a DVD player (though Santa will probably have one for me this year).
I still get a kick out of programming though. So I can still be a geek... right? [looks pleadingly at the rest of the Slashdot audience]
"The more you tighten your grip, RIAA, the more musicians will slip through your fingers."
-Thomas
I order a medium Coke and medium popcorn. I'm invariably asked if I'd like the large for just-25-cents-more. I'm invariably tempted to reply, "No thanks, I'm here to see a movie, not visit the restroom".
-Thomas
In flow, I'm aware of reality, but not in a conscious way. It's a state where the "thinking, rational, conscious mind" has stepped aside and the "reactive, reflexive mind" has taken over. I've experienced this while coding, reading, watching a really good movie, and gaming.
When a neuron "fires", nearby neurons will in turn fire; they will trigger other neurons, etc. etc. Whether or not a particular neuron will fire in response to its neighbor's firing is dependent partially (largely?) on how strong the connection between those neurons is. A repeated experience strengthens the connections between sets of neurons, creating an "open channel" of neural connections in your brain. The more frequent or intense the experience, the stronger the connections become, and the easier it becomes to trigger the neurons involved.
So "flow state" is the repeated, near-effortless firing of a set of neural pathways that have been strongly connected by repeated experience. So strongly connected, in fact, that a tiny stimulus causes them to fire, in effect bypassing the "thinking" part of the brain.
It's like a reflex. When you touch a hot stove, you pull your hand back before you're consciously aware you touched a hot stove. When an enemy character appears on the screen, you shoot them before you consciously are aware that they were there. A tenth of a second later, as you're watching the gibs scatter, you become aware that you shot them. And then you might think to yourself, "Wow, it's like I shot him before I even knew he was there!" And in a way, you did.
-Thomas
The point isn't getting it "right"; usually there's many solutions (sometimes there are none). The point is for the interviewer to get an idea of how well you think. Can you think creatively? Can you justify your reasoning? Can you ask for more information if you need it? Etc.
BTW, this particular problem is the core of a wonderful little story called "Hellhole", by David Gerrold. The protagonist (an alien spaceship captain from a world unfamiliar with "burning" as we know it) figures out how to save herself by starting a back fire.
I'd like to know more about why you consider Java the "worst of both" (C++ vs. PHP). I've used all three, and my experience has been that all three have strengths and weaknesses.
What kind of software have you worked on with Java, C++, and PHP? In what environments? What type of hardware?
(This isn't a troll, BTW, I am always interested in alternative viewpoints. I often learn something interesting, and sometimes re-evaluate my own perspective.)
-Thomas
That should be "your", not "you're".
-- Just your average anal-retentive nitpicker. :)
And better yet, let's write them in base 16:
1, 2, 4, 8, 10, 20, 40, 80, 100....
-Thomas
Maybe you could call this "open data". Really, though, it's a fascinating example of how thinking outside the box can benefit a company.
-Thomas
Okay, we've heard that AotC will supposedly cost the U.S. economy $300 million. That's for a 2 hour movie.
:)
How much is Doom III gonna cost the economy, is what I wanna know.
Yes. I have ex-coworkers who are in a very XP environment. Things they have learned include:
- XP is very tactical. You need someone at the strategic level guiding and leading.
- Productivity drops significantly after about 40 hours per week (they collect detailed statistics about defect rates showing this).
- Individual productivity appears to suffer, but the result of pair programming and short (two-week for them) iterations results in code that is easy to work on (read: good design) and very low on bugs (read: well written).
They've put a lot of support around their XP team to make XP effective, in the form of tools, processes, and people (roles). Without that, I suspect they would be disorganized and chaotic.
There's a time and a place for just about every methodology out there. XP is an effective approach to development as long as it's done in the right environment by people who understand (or can learn) how to make it work for them.
hit a pedestrian and run off.
Hit a pedestrian and run off, and be chased down by said pedestrian.
(It's not hard to run faster than 12.5mph.)
I've found lots of possible causes, listing what I can think of at random:
:). Fourth, break things down into tasks that are do-able in a "unit-of-effort" timespan that works for you -- whether it's two hours or two days.
;-) And that's actually a pretty apt analogy: they can help you debug, optimize, and rewrite the code that runs your brain.
:)
Burnout. Solution: take a vacation during which you do as little as possible. Get your mind back in working order. Enjoy yourself.
Stress. This could be work stress, or personal-life stress. I'm fighting a lot of both right now. Solutions: one, find a (healthy) way -- or ways -- to relieve the stress. For me, it's a combination of relaxing, physical activity, and giving myself little treats. This doesn't address "root cause", but it makes life much more bearable and helps give you the energy to carry on. A vacation can be a temporary help here too, but it's a bandaid -- it won't solve the issues causing you stress. Two, think about what's causing the stress. It's either something you can do something about, or it's something you can do nothing about. If it's the former, do what you can. If it's the latter, forget about it. If it's the "I'm afraid [something bad] is going to happen" anxiety, come up with a couple of strategies for handling that situation. Just having a plan helps. Finally, sometimes you can change your attitude -- the way you think about the thing that's causing you stress. Sometimes this is just taking a new perspective: yes, it would be a bummer if you get laid off -- it's not a great time to be looking for work. But it's not such a big deal compared to, say, being in a car accident and losing two fingers.
The work is "stupid", "boring", a "waste of time", etc. The problem here is one of rewards. You get paid for being at work and getting the job done... but that's sometimes not enough motivation to actually do the work. Solution: set up your own reward system. For example, saying Okay, I'll work on this for two hours, and then I'm gonna browse Slashdot for twenty minutes. If you have a good manager, maybe he can help here -- for instance by giving you something more interesting to work on.
Getting overwhelmed. You have so much on your plate you don't even know where to start, and it feels like there's no point in starting because you'll never get it cleared. Solution: first, accept that the plate will never be cleared. Second, accept that this is not just okay, but it's perfectly normal. Third, work with your manager to prioritize your tasks and time. If he can't/won't help, come up with your own scheme. If it doesn't work, your manager will come around and help
Depression. Go see a therapist or psychologist. In fact, a therapist can be an awfully good idea regardless of what you think is the cause of your "anti-zone". Forget about the stereotypes and the fear of being stigmatized. There are people out there who can figure out your brain and improve how it works just like you or I can work on a program. (Well, just like I can; I don't know about your coding skills....
Whew. Well, hope you get something useful out of all that.
Uh, the relationship between the green confetti and the yellow metal no longer exists. As of a few decades ago. The green pieces of paper only have value because people generally agree that a certain amount of the green paper can be exchanged for a certain amount of stuff. Some people get very upset because they think they are giving up too much green paper in exchange for the stuff. Some people get upset because they can't get other people to give up more green paper in exchange for their stuff. This general disillusionment with the way things ought to be versus the way they are is called 'capitalism'. It's a horrible state of affairs, but it seems to be the best idea people have come up with so far about how to run things. Other ideas still exist, but have mostly fallen out of favor or are acceptable to only a handful of people.
There are four principals here: the author, the publisher, the bookseller, and the consumer. The economic dynamic between these groups is complex (though, like most complex things, defined by simple forces and relationships). The forces exerted between the parties results in a high degree of tension in the overall system. To a large degree, this high tension is the result of publishers increasing book prices (note I am not placing blame here or discussing the reasons for the increase). Consequently, just like any other system whose structure is established by strong opposing tension between elements, the publishing industry is ripe for a realignment of relationships and forces. The effect of Amazon.com's recent actions could trigger drastic change in the economics of the publishing industry. Publishers realize this and that is why they are screaming bloody murder.