Ivory tower (2)

many companies have those research departments. Those propellerheads who feed revolutionary ideas to rest of the organization, willing or not.

It's fascinating how different types of people work in these different units, research, r&d and production. Production guys are conservative nitpickers who don't like anything new or changing (a small exaggeration if you may). And r&d guys, depending on the situation and person, either calculative project managers or techno-oriented geeks.

Research people are different, too.Some child-minded, one-track-minds with awesome concentration on details. Some others are dreamers with difficulties to end anything.

Question remains whether we should relieve the tension between these different parties? Like earthing a bit the propellerheads and loosening up in the production. Actually no, I think. Part of the strength of the researchers is that they don't know too much about the evil everyday world, they should be left in their ivory tower. Research is intricate business where you travel basically based on faith. If the faith trembles your creativity starts coughing. That is of course if we are going to create something totally new, not just more me-too.

I could be wrong but this is the view I've got from working on both sides. BTW: it is interesting and educating to change for example from research to production and observe how slowly your thinking actually adopts the new mindset required by the new job. These changes are valuable not only for expanded knowledge and diversification but they also make you aware of your own static mindsets and prejudice.


First published 2007:

http://mielikuva.blogspot.com/2007/05/ivory-tower.html

Take the 'A' train (2)

when a train approaches a station, almost always half of the people standing a
on the platform starts walking to the same direction as the coming train is moving. Why is that?

---- -
first published 2008:
http://mielikuva.blogspot.com/2008/02/take-a-train.html

Stop for internet

especially when mobile phones were a new thing, it was found amusing that people felt an urge to walk around aimlessly while talking on a phone.

It doesn't bother me but what instead bothers is that I have to stop walking when wishing to enter internet. Although it is possible to use internet on my phone while walking, it requires concentration and sometimes is not wise for example if there is a lot of traffic or slippery road.

Not alphabetical order...

What significance has alphabetical order in your daily activities? It came to me that I could nowadays do pretty well although I hadn't learnt alphabetical order in the school. Again one another skill doomed to oblivion like the ability to do sums without a calculator or remember person's phone number.

Where I used to need that was in many occasions related to searching information. Went to a library, locating right book required mastering alphabetical order. And when the book was found, using the index required that as well. Now that I use google instead, where do I still need alphabets?

When I really think this through, I still use alphabetical order in some occasions.

- many times parking lots have guide letters designating the are in which you parked your car.

- at the airports terminals have letters (I'm not sure, does their order help you in any way)

- in Washington DC you have streets named "E", "F",... and located conveniently in alphabetical order

Why are these all related to place and location? Could it be that it is the one realm where information technology has not yet really left it's mark? Waiting for GIS, internet of things and augmented reality to kick in.

- - - - -

Quote from a movie: High fidelity
 http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/High_Fidelity

Dick: It guess it looks as if you're reorganizing your records. What is this though? Chronological?
Rob: No...
Dick: Not alphabetical...
Rob: Nope.
Dick: What?
Rob: Autobiographical.
Dick: No fuckin' way.

Erp (2)

based on this story (in Finnish) about ERP(enterprise resource planning) going personal:
http://www.digitoday.fi/mielipide/2007/07/17/kuluttajaakin-erppii/200717265/66

a system taking care of person's dull everyday formalities like bills, receipts, bureaucracy. not bad.
your own personal secretary who knows your calendar and whom you can put the do the errands like book a dentist etc.
Isn't this the normal direction of evolution, to get rid of dull routine? Sometimes it works, like you buy your bread and cheese ready sliced. Addition is done by computers, potatoes grown by someone else. But you have to recycle bottles and sort the garbage, type your own documents.

I.e. some tasks you can loose and some you don't. You also get new tasks. It's easier to acquire knowledge via web but then on the other hand, somebody feel compelled to write wikipedia.

Distantly, this relates to a book I read( was it Utterback can't remember). There was an example of cereal-growing in America, how it got more effective during centuries. At a given time the crop increased threefold. But at the same time, the energy needed got tenfold. Efficiency getting worse was the price for more centralized production serving a changed society structure.

- - - -
first published 2007
http://mielikuva.blogspot.com/2007/07/erppi.html

Instant payback (2)

could it be possible, for people to reward fellow citizens when they do something unselfish. Like clean up garbage from the streets or help an elderly lady across a street. If only people witnessing this could instantly reward this person by making a small donation to the persons account, paypal-style and anonymously.
-- - - - - -
first published
http://mielikuva.blogspot.com/2007/06/instant-payback.html

Bradley - the vehicle (2)

movie "Pentagon wars" contains a priceless description of a r&d project going haywire by ever-changing and contradictory requirements.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXQ2lO3ieBA&noredirect=1
very educational and oh-so familiar.

- - - - -
first published 2007
http://mielikuva.blogspot.com/2007/08/bradley-vehicle.html

Remote eyes (2)

in harrypotter, there is an invention by innovative Weasley brothers, called extendable ears. On the same lines, how about extendable eyes, or maybe remote eyes would be a better term. There come situations where you would like to know or actually see, how many people there on the town square, how much the product costs in another store, or whether there is an empty parking slot just around the corner.

At that instant you could summon people who see what you would like to see, via cameraphone etc.
What you need is a mobile app where you could order a location based photo, live. Photo is taken by a passer-by, not familiar to you. Of course there is the question of payment. Someone could do it for free, some other would require some kind of reward.

- - - -
first published 2007 (still I'm not aware of a service of this kind)
http://mielikuva.blogspot.com/2007/12/etsilmt.html

Updating prices (2)

when it seems 95% of my alleged readers are non-Finns, I think I translate some of my older ramblings written in Finnish only. I'll start from 2007.
- - - - -
wasn't it nice when visiting a shop just before closing time, no trace of the rush and frenzy. what brought to mind, wouldn't it be possible for shops to alter their pricing according to time of the day? That could even out the traffic a bit, if all prices were a couple of percent higher during rush hour.

- -- -
first published:
http://mielikuva.blogspot.com/2007/12/pivittyvt-hinnat.html

Second hand

Flea markets rule. Not for buying but selling (in my mind). I have found my niche in those. They combine my greed for money and urge to organize home in 5S-spirit. The rationale is - if you haven't needed something for 2 years what's the probability you need it at all and what is the cost the storage space it take? Of course memorabilia items are not counted. To my mind it's wiser to sell the stuff with minimum loss and then buy them back later IF needed (probably not). Also I noticed that most of the stuff we sell is not the quality stuff, but the low end which we have replaced with something more valuable or of high quality. You shouldn't save in the wrong place.
Again the old saying, poor can't afford to buy cheap.
Flea markets are also delightful places to meet colorful people. Haggling is not my trade, actually i'm awful in it, giving in all the faults in the sellable items. But I'm learning to set my words and products right. And it's delightful to notice that some item finds a new home and that receiver actually joys to have it.

Inertia in traffic

In Helsinki there happened  a regrettable incident a couple days ago, an elderly lady was killed in a traffic accident, was hit by a lorry on a pedestrian crossing. This got me thinking, because I know the place and there's an excellent visibility and the speed limit is 40km/h. Of course now it's winter but still the weather condition was  at the time "a normal winter  weather". That of course causes major problems for many Finns, don't know is it the global warming or what makes makes them so unprepared for this meteorological phenomenon happening every year, rather predictably.
Not knowing the actual facts of the accident I made a wild guess what happened. This guess was based on my own observations and experience as a driver and pedestrian.
Car drivers are big fans of inertia. They assume that everything continues as it has happened so far.*) Pedestrian continues crossing the street at a constant speed, so there is no need for me to lower my speed since our trajectories don't cross. She can get out of the way before I hit the crossing.

But then something unexpected happens, elderly lady slips and falls down. Now what? A black swan, in local scale..

For many non-Finns this whole episode sounds unbelievable, we have a lot to learn. Still, things could be worse.


*)how else can you explain 10m safety distance to the car in front of you when driving 80km/h? In my safety distance slot, there are 1-2 cars with "better than average" drivers on the adjoining lane.

- - -
playing: Gheorghe Zamfir - The Lonely Shepherd

orienteering in business

I'll translate this old text I wrote in 2007 in Finnish.

Think about orienteering competition where some of the participants would be in the forest without a map and compass. And also some of the control points would change their location every once and a while. Thinking in strategy terms, the map is the roadmap comprising the knowledge on the present and future situation. The compass is the strategy which doesn't necessarily take you to the goal but gives you an stable direction to lean to.

An experienced orienteer reads the map while running but not from the point he or she is at the moment but in order to create a picture of the scenery behind the next turn. And as the journey progresses, verifies that picture by making observations of the details of the scenery.
In an easy terrain you can put the point of reference or goal far away, in a difficult terrain you have to take smaller steps.
An orienteer can't also run straight to the goal, but one has to find all the control points.

What if you get lost? Of course you can start following another orienteer but he can be as messed up as you or just heading to a wrong control point.

Entrepreneurship compared to orienteering is funny in a way that you can set the locations of the control points by yourself and also draw the map and calibrate the compass. The goal is still the same for all: profitable business.

enron

went to see the play "Enron" written by Lucy Prebble and performed by Helsingin kaupunginteatteri.
a classic story about greed and money and "don't tell, don't ask"-principle in corporate finance. especially amusing (or scary) was a scene where board of directors, lawyers and finance assured themselves that the dubious financial trick is ok although there was nothing good in it. shared responsibility equals no responsibility.

digital assistant

just what I tried to describe in hidden views, Anssi Vanjoki is mentioning in his technological testament when now quiting from Nokia.

http://www.city.fi/artikkeli/Vanjoen+teknotestamentti/3668/
(in Finnish sorry)

specifically the point number six: our digital twins or assistants take care and automate dull errands like paying bills or route planning.

also interestingly at the same it was announced that RIM acquired the Swedish TAT with lots of interesting ideas about user interfaces, also augmented reality stuff.

hidden views

very nice examples of augmented reality in mobile apps,

http://www.augmentedrealblog.com/?p=63

especially hidden views rings bells, chimes with my wish to be able to peek around the corner or to the other side of the building.

one point I would like to add to the list in the above link, would be a metadata assistant. Like a personal secretary or assistant sitting on your shoulder and whispering to your ear:
-you met this person 2 years ago, his name is xx. He is interested in ...
-this place is rated "risky"by passers-by during last 10mins
-the car behind you has been tagged "road-rage" by 31 persons
-you should take this longer route it has less congestion

We have got so accustomed to googling whatever information we need that it's easy to imagine that tendency to drive also augmented reality. Where you can guide the googling by pointing or watching or just being in the right place. Context is everything. As well as location.

insanity

insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different result. - A.Einstein

so I'm by definition insane because my daily work is basically to look for anomalies and things that usually work but then sometimes fail.
And what a pleasure it is when you find something irregular after tons of white noise in your problem-o-meter. and just a second later you think - where the #¤% I put my nose again.
-
playing: jamiroquai - virtual insanity
-
also the "different result" is not so obvious unless you are counting apples.
uncertainty in study or measurement is obviously a hard term to comprehend. So frequent are the situations where people use different kind of measurement results and facts without thinking the uncertainty or confidence interval associated to them.

-election polls: party xx is up 0.7% and beat party yy
-doctor: if your lab result is 1.7 you're fine, if it's 1.8, you're gonna die.
-scientist: eating ice-cream increases death by drowning in the summer time
-weather prediction: Helsinki tomorrow +5C

and another thing. when developing new stuff you keep hearing, " we tried that 1992, didn't work". sometimes finding new stuff requires banging your head to the same experiments again and again? well somewtimes it's wise to take a short break and wait for the world to catch up you.

alignment and forestry

been studying forestry lately, one thing I learned is that a forest at particular location roughly grows the same amount (biomass m3/year) regardless of the forestry actions performed by the forest owner. maybe this is an oversimplification but all the thinning and "grooming" and selecting the right wood doesn't significantly add biomass growth. but it aligns the growth into direction the owner wants. Making room for the wanted wood species and thus increasing profits.

hmm, is there some similarity to your average workplace? all those busy bees minding their own businesses and running errands based on volume control (who shouts loudest). sometimes looks like bees without any particular reason or direction. they all find something useful and fun to do. but maybe someone sees the forest for the trees.

physical browsing

I realized I have adopted a new way to search information on internet. If i need opening hours for a shop, I don't try to google the name of the shop on that particular street whose name I don't know. Instead I fire up google maps and fly to the shop's location. then check the opening hours by looking at the sign in streetview. Realizing that the picture could be one year old. Also when planning where to park, streetview is a good place to check the traffic signs beforehand. Ok, just call me control freak.

Needless to say, I find this way of browsing very natural. At least it works with local information, I wouldn't search paddington metro station info number via streetview browsing.

This physical browsing bears a close relationship to augmented reality, I find very intriguing the idea to be able to remotely peek around the corner to the next street while walking in city centre. Or take a bird eye view on the neighbourhood.

look around

and you find the bits and pieces for the next revolution. As stated promptly on the right pane by mr. Gibson, future is already here.

In Guardian there was a jolly good story
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/oct/19/steven-johnson-good-ideas
about the same subject. How new ideas and inventions incubate when conditions are ready for them. They actually seem inevitable, it's just about the timing. Maybe the genius is in those who foresee that development.

Also an older citation by Henry Ford (from Hargadon's "How breakthroughs happen..")

'I invented nothing new. I simply assembled into a car the discoveries of other men behind whom were centuries of work. ... Had I worked fifty or ten or even five years before, I would have failed. So it is with every new thing. Progress happens when all the factors that make for it are ready, and then it is inevitable. To teach that a comparatively few men are responsible for the greatest forward steps of mankind is the worst sort of nonsense.'

Andrew Hargadon also introduces in his 2003 book a term called "technology brokering" which is essentially the same thing as in Guardian article. Shamelessly borrow ideas from other companies and industries and disciplines to unlock the potential of distant analogies.

Standing on the shoulders of giants.

Disappearing technology

a quick note while passing by.

Mark Weiser:

"The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it. "

http://nano.xerox.com/hypertext/weiser/SciAmDraft3.html

Like transistor radios, how they were called way back in the 1950's. Later just radios. And nowadays those radios are merged to mobile phones and other apparatus. Making them invisible, immaterial memory of something that used to be concrete to us. Like leverage, downshifting, bottleneck, ...

One could argue that the more profound the technology is, the harder it is to distinguish from the realm of every day life.