I'm splitting off another discussion started in the CT section.

Somehow between me and Jay, and some others, we touched a nerve and the thread went OT somewhere around here


Anyway, we are discussing how a technological solution always turns out to be a better choice, whether the decision maker knows how that can be or not.

I'm sure everyone has experienced "A solution looking for a problem".

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Numbers are not case sensitive. (me)

I don't know WHO could have started that thread down that path :whistles innocently:

I'm in insurance now, so I don't deal too much with technical mumbo-jumbo, just the equally complex legal variety. Although from the user end of things, it's painfully obvious that the company likes to do the whole "we need this function in this program, so instead lets write a whole new progam". When said new program comes, the new feature works lousilly at best, and the old features that we depend on also become unreliable. And they wonder why we have a hard time getting excited when a new system is announced...

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.

Is that why it takes me an hour to build travel plans and about forty mintutes to file travel claims when I return?

Back in the 1990s, it used to take HR 15 minutes to build the travel plans and me about 10 minutes to file a claim.

Then again, that's when it was done on paper.

What computers are good for:

1. Excellent replacements for typewriters

2. Terrific for building models of systems whereby one can change one or more variables and compare the results

3. Graphic information

4. Conducting initial statistics

5. Rapid communication and sharing information

6. Storing large amounts of information and being able to rapidly search that information

7. Controlling the environment. At least the one on the inside. I have sensors tied into my light switches which send information about temperature, humidity, and whether or not anyone happens to be in a room. I can manually adjust the temperature, but the computer "learns" my preferences, and how they vary with varying humidity, time of day, day of week, and even time of year, then adjusts the temperature in the house to match what it thinks my preferences will be based upon historic data. This not only means I'm almost always comfortable, but it also means I save a lot of money when I'm not here, as the computer knows that, too (since I programmed it in). Computers control large building environments in much the same way for similar savings.

What computers are NOT good for:
1. Making decisions. They're a good aide for decision-making, but the moment the system being modeled changes, the computer model is flawed. Because most systems are in a constant state of flux, we must have humans in the loop.

2. Organizing information. Give me a sharp secretary with a good cabinet and paper filing system any day! If he/she's computer savvy, all the better, as that person will impose the same level of organization on electronic files that they do with paper files. But if you leave it up to the average person to organize their own files, about 80% of the time you wind up with a mess that their replacement will pull their hair out trying to figure out what's what. This is why nearly all large organizations have file plans which force all users to store information in a predetermined way.

3. Visual recognition. Let's face it - birds have far better image processing power and capability than the best computer in the world.

Well, that's a start - I'm sure others can add to this list!

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I am Mugs, of the Alien clan of Usa, Nordamerica, a Terran, of Sol. A human.

Whoever says "perception is reality" is daft. It's merely an abstraction, and often not a very good one.

There's something amusingly ironic about that typo.


Pretty good synopsis, but there is one thing that seems to waiver back and forth between the two and corresponds with your #7.

Controling process flow. When something needs to progress from person to person, a computer is a good way for it to happen consistantly.

Unfortunately, in application, it turns it into a technical nightmare, and is being magnified with Sarbanes.

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Numbers are not case sensitive. (me)

Wow! That was quick!

But thanks for helping me prove my point, as the problem is fixed, and I didn't have to retype the entire thing like I used to have to do with a typewriter.

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I am Mugs, of the Alien clan of Usa, Nordamerica, a Terran, of Sol. A human.

Whoever says "perception is reality" is daft. It's merely an abstraction, and often not a very good one.

The timing on this one couldn't have been better.

Lets add "a replacement for management skills".

I just got an email saying I will get an email requiring me to complete an online course on "mutual respect". In the months that follow, more tests to guide our behavior.

You see, the company is trying to take pride in thier reputation.

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Numbers are not case sensitive. (me)

Let's not forget the plight of us techs.

I wired a sawmill in BC, Canada that was capable of control from head office in Portland, Ore.

They could watch the lumber prices and orders from there, and adjust the mill to compensate.
The mill could go from 1x1" at 10' to 6x6" at 20' just by entering it in the software. It would change the whole line at once.

Industrial computers and controllers have advanced immensely.
Machines can be monitored and controlled in a windows GUI.
Product can be adjusted and quality control monitored.
Motor controllers monitor the loads etc, and even indicate bearings needing grease.
There are things called CNC machines, mostly lathes, where they make a drawing in AutoCad, put a crushed Volkswagen in and it spits out 40 machine guns. Well, not quite that sophisticated yet....

You are right, it is a long list.

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'Sir........, I don't like these numbers.'
'Then hire somebody that can change them!'
("`-/")_.-'"``-.,,
\. . `; -._( );, `)
(v_,)' _ )`-. \ ``'`
_.- _..-/ /((.'
((,.-' ((,/

Personally there are expert systems I trust more than human experts.

Here is a Micheal Chriton quote. I found it on the internet, so it must be accurate:

I've dealt with some really big products over the years. These include submarine power units which were over two stories high and weighed 80 tons, earth moving equipment that made the operators look like Lilliputians, and various components for 747s.

When the design and then the processing got to sub-assemblies and final assemblies, the little computer screens displaying CAD/CADD/CAM etc., renditions of what we were building just didn't cut it.

When one is working with really big, complicated assemblies, engineering drawings on paper provide information that computer monitors do not. One aspect is being able to see relationships that would be lost between the pixels on the biggest computer screen.

This is especially true when one is having a design finalization meeting or discussing what went wrong in an assembly that's 30 feet long, weighs five tons, and is loaded with all kinds of sensors, moving parts, hydraulics, structurals, etc. That's why the table at such a meeting must be large. We need room to roll out the drawing and decide if it's OK, and later, how to fix what went wrong, both without missing any details that might impact our decision making process.

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A person's name, or a mark representing it, as signed personally or by deputy, as in subscribing a letter or other document.

And here I was thinking it was old thimble collections - silly me!

Still, we're probably not far off from that one.

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I am Mugs, of the Alien clan of Usa, Nordamerica, a Terran, of Sol. A human.

Whoever says "perception is reality" is daft. It's merely an abstraction, and often not a very good one.

Hmm, I find it difficult to believe that a checklist is better than experience for making psychological diagnoses. Psychology seems like one of those fields where there is no substitute for experience, although I suppose experience could be detrimental if it gives someone too many prejudices or pre-conceived notions.


Regarding computers and technology in general, so much depends on how they are implemented and whether an organization has the resources and expertise to get them functioning at full capacity. I used to work for a financial services company where we kept upgrading to new digital imaging and workflow systems that were technically better, but in reality each upgrade slowed things down because apparently both the memory and bandwidth were not adequate to have the systems work at full speed.

Michael Crichton is demonstrably a poor source for reasonably objective assessments of professional expertise, particularly that far outside of his field (writing mass-market fiction.) It doesn't seem to stop him from trying, though.

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In Fallout 3, 'happiness' is a warm junkyard dog and a loaded gun. It's mostly the loaded gun.
- Moose's one-line review.

"your going to regret that one. You are now a colonoscope...
- Chrissy, corrupting PraedSt's wish.

No, it doesn't, and while some people consider him to be poor with respect to objectivity, I've discovered, over time, that he's remarkably dead on target with his somewhat controversial subjects.

It's the controversy itself which I suspect raises the question of objectivity.

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I am Mugs, of the Alien clan of Usa, Nordamerica, a Terran, of Sol. A human.

Whoever says "perception is reality" is daft. It's merely an abstraction, and often not a very good one.

Please don't do that.

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In Fallout 3, 'happiness' is a warm junkyard dog and a loaded gun. It's mostly the loaded gun.
- Moose's one-line review.

"your going to regret that one. You are now a colonoscope...
- Chrissy, corrupting PraedSt's wish.

I don't know about psychology, but I have seen it in veterinarians whose profession is far more crucial to humanity.

I used to work on a farm with 600 brood sows. We started losing 2-3 a week due to 'acute peritonitis' (perforated gastric ulcers).

Our vet couldn't figure it out.
This was a concern to me because I was the poor schmuck that had to drag the carcasses out the door.

This went on for 3-4 months, samples were sent to labs, we paid more vets etc.

After a month or two I decided to look at our copy of The Merck Veterinary Manual. A bible to most vets.

Section on ulcers- One of the main causes is high salt content in the diet. When high salt supplements such as whey are added to the diet.....

We had just started feeding them whey (7500 litres/600 sows/1.5 days), before the problem started.
I mentioned this. We reduced the salt in their grain based 'chop' to zero.
No more heavy lifting.

__________________
'Sir........, I don't like these numbers.'
'Then hire somebody that can change them!'
("`-/")_.-'"``-.,,
\. . `; -._( );, `)
(v_,)' _ )`-. \ ``'`
_.- _..-/ /((.'
((,.-' ((,/

It is an interesting line of thinking. My mother occasionally tells me about the six months or so I was sick when I was but a year old. It was a very difficult six months for my folks. I was constantly in distress/pain. I'd seen doctor after doctor, specialist after specialist. I'd been tested for cystic fibrosis (I think that's what Mom said) and a bunch of other stuff.

Finally a med student asked the right questions. It turned out to be my tonsils. Nobody thought of it because tonsils don't usually inflame before five or six.

__________________
In Fallout 3, 'happiness' is a warm junkyard dog and a loaded gun. It's mostly the loaded gun.
- Moose's one-line review.

"your going to regret that one. You are now a colonoscope...
- Chrissy, corrupting PraedSt's wish.

There is the possiblility that older psychologists don't use checklists becauses checklists were considered important when they were trained.

And all I know is the quote had the name Micheal Chriton at the end of it. It may not have been by Micheal Chriton the writer, it could have been by someone who knows what he's talking about.