Nothing Either Good or Bad

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Forbes: Complete beginner's guide to blockchain

Intriguing concept of blockchain as the "internet of value".

Forbes: Complete beginner's guide to blockchain

Monday, January 30, 2017

Two posts on Storytelling and Leadership

I found two articles by Andy Serkin that are great examples of how much of leadership involves the art of telling good stories.

Why Leadership = Storytelling

He also likes Elon Musk of Tesla. While the delivery isn't as strong as the material, he felt that the overall introduction of the Powerwall was successful. At the end, the audience cheered. For a battery!

Want a Better Pitch? Watch This.

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Radical candor

Kim Scott is the CEO of Candor, Inc. She coaches Silicon Valley CEOs to help improve performance. One of her key insights is the concept of "radical candor"

It's about a specific way to tell the unvarnished truth that can help guide someone towards better outcomes.

Radical Candor--The Surprising Secret to Being a Good Boss

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Savoring imperfections

When I was younger, I used to long for perfection. Maybe it was because I had been fed a steady diet of airbrushed goddesses. Whatever the case, I think when you are younger you feel invulnerable and search for the flawless in just about everything.

As I've gotten older, I've learned that there is something less satisfying about that. Maybe it's because I now know that there really isn't anything perfect in our human world. Even the young and the beautiful have their flaws. I've been noticing more and more that I don't mind the perceived imperfections so much. Maybe it's because I know that I'm nowhere close to perfect myself.

Whatever the case, I think I'm a little bit closer to actual acceptance.

Physicists in Silicon Valley

Physicists are good at abstract thinking and math. These are important skills prized in Silicon Valley.

https://www.wired.com/2017/01/move-coders-physicists-will-soon-rule-silicon-valley/

Why zebras have stripes

In Wired, a scientist set out to determine why zebras have stripes. He investigated all of the more common theories. He was able to use evidence to support findings that shot down most of the existing hypotheses.

He found that stripes did not help camouflage the zebra or help it hide from other predators.

Stripes were not a warning to predators.

They did not confuse predators.

They weren't really used for social recognition or temperature control.

He did find one key benefit to stripes:

“I knew from the literature that certain kinds of biting flies didn’t like landing on black and white surfaces,” he says. He also knew that the insects were attracted to movement. So, he would put on the pelt, trudge for an hour, and have his assistant count the number of tsetse flies that had landed on him. For science, he did the walk again, draped in a wildebeest hide.

And? “I really started to see results at this point,” he says. The flies did not like the stripes! “It was an elevating experience, at last after ten years working on this project I started to see a positive effect on one of these hypotheses.” He did more experiments, including setting up striped fly traps (no more walking down dusty roads). With each new experiment, the evidence lined up to support the anti-insect hypothesis. Eventually, Caro and his colleagues did a map analysis, overlaying the ranges of various biting flies and insects with the places where zebras, and their non-striped cousins like the Asiatic wild ass, ranged. “It’s a slam dunk, if you like,” he says. “You find striping where you have high biting fly abundance.”

Perhaps I should start wearing pinstripes for our next walk in the woods!

Here is a link to the full article: Wired: The Man in the Zebra Suit Knows the Secret of Stripes

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Bruxelles

Arrival at about 8:30 AM local time on January 6, 2017.

Cleared customs and bought a train ticket. VISA would not let me use the chip card at a kiosk, so I had to buy it from an agent. Also found an ATM and got €90.

Took the train to Bruxelles-Midi (Zuid). Searched for the Metro. Bought a one-day card on the metro for €6. Took it four stops to Louise (Avenue Louise). Walked out to the tram and found the LaGrande. Made one mistake and stopped first and doubled back to the Stephanie stop at 52. Realized my mistake and ended up at 502.

Took line 7 to Atomium. After walking around the Atomium to the Expo, found the metro station and decided to go back. Took the 6 and switched lines to Grand Central Platz.

Wandered from there to get a little lunch.