Disqus - Latest Comments for grvaughan

Re: Flow Doesn’t Lead to Mastery

grvaughan — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 12:52:40 -0000

Yeah, I think this is a valid question. You can look at motivation two ways, push and pull. So many students feel a lot of pressure because they're getting pushed into a certain field (usually by their parents, but occasionally by a misguided idea of their own aptitude).

What you should be looking for is pull, where the more you get exposed to a field of study, the more it interests you and the more you're motivated to pursue it. That doesn't mean you don't feel pressure about tests, etc., but your motivation becomes internal, rather than external, and so you are much less prone to feel like a victim of circumstances.

Many people at your age think they've found their calling, but have only found one aspect of it. You see that a lot in the performing arts - high schoolers who are sure they're going to be performing musicians, ballet dancers, whatever. Same thing with athletes. There are only so many jobs in these fields, and the competition intensifies tremendously every step up the ladder.

But there are a lot more jobs that have, for example, music as an aspect of the work. The same thing with physics - it's used in engineering, materials science, even game programming nowadays. So don't narrow your field of study too quickly. Even if you aren't a talented enough physicist to be the next Einstein, you could still have above-average skill in physics compared to most engineers.

To sum up, if you're only in high school and already pressuring yourself to the point of depression, you need to re-examine your options. Maybe physics is right for you, but why do you say that? Because you think it, or because someone else told you? Consider math, engineering, computer science, or maybe even a non-technical field.

When you do find the right field for you, you'll be doing it for fun, not just for the test. That's what Einstein did.

Re: Compassion as a Prerequisite to Questioning

grvaughan — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 01:32:02 -0000

How did I not know about those?!! Sometimes I understand the cartoons, but not always.

Re: Compassion as a Prerequisite to Questioning

grvaughan — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 15:22:09 -0000

Yes, there's something to be said for listening to one's gut instinct. Though as a famous CEO wrote, it's more to be trusted when it's skeptical or saying 'no', than when it's wildly enthusiastic.

And thank you for the Randall Munroe quote. I had to add that to my list.

Re: The Importance of Safe Conversation

grvaughan — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 19:32:44 -0000

It's good to be quick to ask questions and slow to make or break commitments. So much of the time, religion tries to reverse that.

I hope you will take the time to sort things out and that eventually your family gets restored, too. Any sort of major trauma can take at least a couple of years to come to grips with, minimum.

Re: ‘We Didn’t Kick You Out.’

grvaughan — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 16:55:52 -0000

"He acted himself and was always the same, around people and me."

Yes, that can tell you so much about a person (or vice-versa).

Re: Trust Me, Church: When Passing the Peace Turns Stressful for Me

grvaughan — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 16:20:49 -0000

Agree. My church doesn't do this, but I've been in others that did. Isn't that what AFTER the service is for? It seems like an unnecessary interruption to me.

Re: I’m Tired of Talking About God

grvaughan — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 02:42:31 -0000

Yes, American Churchianity has gotten way too stuffy, we really need to open the windows and let in some fresh air. And I don't mean that in the sense of formal vs. informal worship, etc., but rather letting not *everything* be about God all the time. That's why I've never much cared for Christian music, as soon as someone starts singing about anything else, they're supposedly not a 'Christian' artist anymore.

Re: Trust Me, Church: What I’m Longing for in a New Member Class (and Beyond)

grvaughan — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 12:51:07 -0000

"In sum, membership in a local church is the process by which we recognize our shared need for one another."

Great point, and that's really the starting point for building a community.

Re: The Five New Cars That Matter at the Detroit Auto Show

grvaughan — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 00:08:50 -0000

interesting to see the GT is back (again). Has Ford kept selling the GT these past few years? It made a big splash when they introduced it a decade or so ago, but since not a word.

Re: Putin's Extremely Long, Very Weird Press Conference

grvaughan — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 13:14:35 -0000

West has made a huge blunder by trying to marginalize Russia and letting NATO expansion get way out of hand. Heck, the EU can't even manage its expansion, which is in some ways far less complex than a mutual security pact.

Re: IBM Is In Even Worse Shape Than It Seemed

grvaughan — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 00:34:16 -0000

Amazed no one's mentioned Robert Cringely's book on IBM, which came out a few months ago. Now that the stock has finally taken a hit, maybe Wall Street folks will read it.

Re: IBM Is In Even Worse Shape Than It Seemed

grvaughan — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 00:30:14 -0000

IDK but Xerox is doing some interesting work in that area.

Re: IBM Is In Even Worse Shape Than It Seemed

grvaughan — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 00:24:37 -0000

Sounds like what Peter Thiel has been saying.

Re: IBM Is In Even Worse Shape Than It Seemed

grvaughan — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:38:24 -0000

Yes, folks forget that a quarter century ago, IBM and GM were in much the same boat, old & tired American corporate giants. Gerstner leveraged IBM's salesforce and brand by growing services, but may have just prolonged the inevitable. Manufacturing products (including software) is usually a great company's core strength.

Re: Anxiety and What it Steals from Us

grvaughan — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 00:10:22 -0000

Good article. Letting God be in control is an ongoing struggle. Thank you, Cory.

Re: Online Dating Without Really Trying (Or Getting Murdered)

grvaughan — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 14:45:21 -0000

Well, there's two kinds of meeting online, the dating sites and then actually finding someone through a shared interest such as a blog. Can't see why the second isn't a great way to meet someone, really I'm surprised it hasn't become more common.

Long distance relationships are tough, my wife and I were apart most of two years in college, so you have my sympathy. But geographical separation might actually help the early stages of an online relationship, I would think.

Re: Britain considers the situation of university graduates in jobs that don't require degrees

grvaughan — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 16:29:08 -0000

This article begs the question, "How many years before that college degree goes stale, and they get passed over for those higher-skilled jobs?" Six years may be long enough, sadly.

Seems like in the U.S., at least, employers are very biased towards hiring kids right out of college.

Re: How To Write For Your Intended Audience

grvaughan — Sat, 26 Jul 2014 14:51:26 -0000

Why I could never have just one blog or Twitter account. This was a big frustration in the early years of blogging, when I wanted to start one so badly, but just could not see how I could discuss everything from technical topics, to politics, to what I ate for breakfast on the same page.

Eventually, free blogging sites became common enough to where it was affordable to have several blogs. Then everyone moved their breakfast posts to Twitter, and blogs were no longer the New Big Thing, and the free sites began to wane.

Now they're all gone, and I'm faced with having to start my blogs all over again, and hoping the same won't end up happening with Twitter. But I still think this is the future, where content is tightly targeted toward specific audiences. At least for those of us who are actually readers.

Re: Where Are The Best Places To Write?

grvaughan — Sat, 26 Jul 2014 12:31:53 -0000

"that innocuous Wednesday when he snaps because his entire life seems to happen within 30 feet of where he eats and sleeps"

Ha ha, laughed when I saw that. Having worked from a home office many years, it's an idyllic arrangement, until it's not. Or until the kids wake up!

And while I've never tried much to write away from all my notes & books, I do find restaurants and so forth great places to read and think. And we hope to some day get a beach house - I've convinced myself that would be a great place to write, but who knows?

Re: Mariam Haddad - Performance English - The BusinessMakers Radio Show

grvaughan — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 20:19:32 -0000

Interesting service, in light of Paul Graham's comments last year:

"after ranking every Y.C. company by its valuation, Graham discovered a more significant correlation. “You have to go far down the list to find a C.E.O. with a strong foreign accent,” Graham told me. “Alarmingly far down — like 100th place.” I asked him to clarify. “You can sound like you’re from Russia,” he said, in the voice of an evil Soviet henchman. “It’s just fine, as long as everyone can understand you.”"

http://www.nytimes.com/2013...

So voice coaching or whatever you want to call it sounds like a great idea, and I would agree it can't help but improve someone's confidence.

Re: Barnes & Noble Won't Stop Making New Money-Losing Nooks

grvaughan — Thu, 06 Mar 2014 21:40:48 -0000

Barnes & Noble squandered an opportunity a couple years ago when they brought out the Nook Color, but hobbled it with various restrictions… pointless repeat of IBM's PC Jr. blunder. But maybe they can still gain a foothold if they have a strong enough hardware partner.

Apple seems in no hurry to lower iPad prices, and most average consumers don't even seem aware of Google's Nexus, so maybe there is still time. If publishers and other content providers are smart, they will work with Barnes and Noble to make sure Apple and Amazon aren't the only major players.

Re: Why Wal-Mart Needs to Build Much Smaller Stores

grvaughan — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 20:06:43 -0000

Yes, I think Wal-Mart made a huge mistake when they gave up on the banking business. Of course they were getting a lot of resistance, but look at banks today, they get money at near 0% but gouge everywhere they can. Many of Wal-Mart's customers would have a lot more $$ to spend there, if they weren't getting such bad financial deals. Banking needs a competitor like Wal-Mart who will compete on volume, rather than price.

Re: Why Wal-Mart Needs to Build Much Smaller Stores

grvaughan — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 19:57:46 -0000

I haven't got anything against Wal-Mart, in fact one of my sons works there. But my trips to Wal-Mart are way down, it's just so much hassle to shop at one of their supercenters, and when it's busy can be downright exhausting.

They really need to hire some designers to rethink how cars move in and out of their parking lots. Just getting in the store is much harder than it should be. I pretty much agree that the stores are too big, and that they need to move faster building smaller stores. Recently while traveling, I ran across an older Wal-Mart that hadn't been converted into a supercenter, and was surprised how much more enjoyable shopping there was.

Re: Dear constant reader

grvaughan — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 00:45:55 -0000

Studies indicate there are a lot of lurkers out there, which amazes me because I love to comment, but apparently that's rare. As an old More user (from v. 1), I've been reading Scripting News since I had the bright idea to search 'outlining', probably on Alta Vista! In fact, I think I first heard about Google from your blog.

Re: The way tech covers Apple is ridiculous

grvaughan — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 22:57:07 -0000

As far as Apple goes, I don't mind the big events, but they messed up last fall, dumping too many new things in a short period and then making us wait most of a year for more. But sometimes there are obvious omissions in the reporting that are near-universal, and make you wonder if any reporter is indeed thinking.

One example is the DRAM included in iOS devices. The typical tech reporter can't seem to distinguish it from flash memory, which is really storage. So everyone cites the 16GB/32GB/whatever specs, but it takes some real digging to find the RAM specs. Even Apple's site didn't show that for the new iPhones when I wanted to compare the 5s & 5c. And so many articles proclaimed the speedier iPad 2 without mentioning its RAM doubling, the key reason behind it!

And then there's the NSA, hiding in plain sight, at least in recent years. I remember seeing a TV documentary a couple years ago that covered many of the revelations reported this year (though with less documented proof). They even went to the exchanges on the west coast and to some of the obscure undersea cable entry points. But no news site picked up on that, far as I could tell.

And here in Texas, there was a big facility set up in San Antonio a few years back, which has received very little news coverage. My understanding is it's just one of several NSA has been sprinkling across the country to process and store the huge amounts of data it is collecting. So, whether consumer products or government stuff (and most lately healthcare.gov), it does seem that tech journalists could be paying a bit more attention.