Tag Archives: thinking

“The most creative spaces are those which hurl us together. It is the human friction that makes the sparks.”

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Karl

Jonah Lehrer in the New Yorker lays out how Brainstorming exercises don’t add up to what we think, and shows us that diversity leads to more innovative ideas in “Groupthink: The Brainstroming Myth”: The fatal misconception behind brainstorming is that … Continue reading →

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Steve Jobs: “computer science is a liberal art, it’s something everyone should know how to use, at least, and harness in their life”

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Karl

“Quotes from Steve Jobs Lost Interview”: “Learning to program teaches you how to think. Computer science is a liberal art.” NPR.org: “Steve Jobs: ‘Computer Science Is A Liberal Art’”: “In my perspective … science and computer science is a liberal … Continue reading →

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Beginner’s Eyes: on storytelling and growth

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Karl

John D. Cook, in a short, poetic post, describes how experts end up where they started, as beginners, and why, in his blog post “Coming full circle”. A few folks in his comments thread make the connection with Zen’s concept … Continue reading →

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Programming, Math, and Computational Thinking: on education

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Karl

Actually, this post will feature a few reads and resources for you that are part of a theme – the need to change K-12 education to face the realities of today and tomorrow, instead of preparing them for a world … Continue reading →

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Dizzying but invisible depth: on complexity

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Karl

Jean-Baptiste Queru, on his Google+ profile, posts a poetic and doozy of a post, “Dizzying but invisible depth”: Today’s computers are so complex that they can only be designed and manufactured with slightly less complex computers. In turn the computers … Continue reading →

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Metrics and damn metrics: on systems

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Karl

Sometimes we get caught in numbers and miss what’s real. This can happen especially when we focus on the wrong numbers writes Arpit Mathur in a sharp post. I’d add even if you were looking at the right numbers, without … Continue reading →

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Impermanence and Software Design: on systems

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Karl

When you’re building software, it is probably best to look at things half-Buddhist. Kent Beck writes about building software that won’t be around longer than him in a recent Facebook note: …nothing I am doing now with software will remain … Continue reading →

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On People, Process, and Passion and Persistence

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Karl

My boss back at Bell Atlantic, who became my friend and mentor, Pat Trongo, had the following quote from Peter Senge’s “The Fifth Discipline” on his cube wall in big bold letters. I found it inspirational back then. But now … Continue reading →

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On ever growing complexity in programming: on systems

Posted on October 2, 2011 by Karl

Edsger W. Dijkstra gave a lecture, in 1972, that has since been come to be called “The Humble Programmer”. It’s a short piece that explains why software development, why programming, was growing more, not less complex over time, and some … Continue reading →

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On Making and Working Towards Big Things: on innovation

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Karl

Wondering why we’re living in an age of ever increasing decreased expectations? You are not alone. Author Neal Stephenson wrote a thought provoking must read for World Policy Institute titled, “Innovation Starvation”: The imperative to develop new technologies and implement … Continue reading →

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