'How We Decide' And The Paralysis Of Analysis

[Thomas Pain]

'How We Decide' And The Paralysis Of Analysis

http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13&prgDate=01-22-2010

This belongs in "Science," but since so many people on this board are diseased in the head (first and foremost yours truly) I am thinking that if this topic provokes any discussion, it will really be so couloured with personal nuance and anecdote that it may as well be here in "People"

in other news, that thread where we were talking about a book club... I realized that that's just stupid.  You can get just about any books at a public library, right?  So we should encourage each other to go to the library...  we should write up an essay on a book if we think it's good, and if our essay convinces people why to read the book, then they will read the book.   

my library card is around here someplace...

[AugustWest]

I do go to the library.  I went to the library tonight.

I also go to Librivox for free audio books.  There's some interesting stuff on there.

[Choop]

the atlanta public library lost three books between their night drop and their check-in process, so i'm not allowed to use their books any more.

idiots.

[Thomas Pain]

librivox... pretty cool... sucky interface however... I just e-mailed them about it, Pat style...

I won't bore you with everything I suggested to them, but for instance, the end of my e-mail:

It also totally sucks that your results include this footer:

1 ·2 ·3 ·4 ·...·54 ·55 ·56 ·57 ·58 ·...·64 ·65 ·66 ·67

what if I want to go directly to number 53 in the list?  Or number 30?  If
I do, I'm left muttering to myself about how much your computer program
sucks.  Computer programs only suck when people make them suck.  Please
stop making your computer program suck.

Best Regards,

It's certainly not nice of me, but I look at it this way...  It's dangerous as fuck to encourage people to promulgate systems that suck.  Sucky computer systems as well as sucky procedures in general lead to situations where for example the school nurse starts giving insulin shots by accident instead of swine flu shots. (This actually happened in some school somewhere this flu season.)  It leads to situations where Choop's books get lost...  It also leads to shit like this...

http://www.ntsb.gov/Events/2000/incursion/incur_video.htm
(scroll down to United 1448 runway incursion animation)  real player required - you will not believe it...  listen to all the audio.. it's crazy as hell.  incomplete versions that are missing the part when then tower operator totally freaks out can also be found on you tube if you search for united 1448.

Choop:  That sucks about your books.  If I were you I would start lobbying the people who run the library, the people on the board of directors or whatever, to get over their lost books that they say you own them.  I'd consider handing out free book marks to people at their annual book sale...  assuming I had time to kill...   I'd do all this not out of a selgiraffe psychopathy, but because, hey, anytime you can put pressure on systems that suck to suck less, you never know if you might have a positive effect in the way people think and act.

Some people fight racism.  I fight evil administrative systems and computer systems.

[lprkn]

real player required - you will not believe it

You're right, I can't believe it.

[Bobby Isosceles]

Some people fight racism.  I fight evil administrative systems and computer systems.

I fight racist computer systems. There's one cluster of supercomputers that wear white hoods and burn crosses with their CPU heat and calculate ways to destroy all non-white people. The cluster is called the Cray Cray Cray.

[Doc]

I fight racist computer systems. There's one cluster of supercomputers that wear white hoods and burn crosses with their CPU heat and calculate ways to destroy all non-white people. The cluster is called the Cray Cray Cray.

No. Bad Bobby.
BAD.

[Thomas Pain]

If this and/or that then
      something
    else
          something else
end if

behold - this is the system that powers your voice mail, keeps your bank account secure, keeps your plane from crashing into another plane on the runway, and so on.  All these things get powered by one thing - logic. 

either you take it seriously, or you don't. 

I may be an asshole, but sometimes I'm the only friend you've got.

When you trace the root cause of every fatality inducing defect recall, (and many more that are never recalled), you find an anal asshole who didn't get listened to.

[littlefallsmets]

I got "and", "but", and "or",
They'll get you pretty far.
"And":
That's an additive, like "this and that".
"But":
That's sort of the opposite,
"Not this but that".
And then there's "or":
O-R, when you have a choice like
"This or that".
"And", "but", and "or",
Get you pretty far.

[AugustWest]

Hooray! I'm for the other team!

[jay-ell]

I got "and", "but", and "or",
They'll get you pretty far.
"And":
That's an additive, like "this and that".
"But":
That's sort of the opposite,
"Not this but that".
And then there's "or":
O-R, when you have a choice like
"This or that".
"And", "but", and "or",
Get you pretty far.

Can-junction junction, what's your function?
Givin' out positive feedback to people.

[Carlos del Vaca]

Because pronouns take the place of a noun
'Cuz saying those nouns over and over can really wear you down.

(Yeah, everyone loves "Conjunction Junction" and "I'm Just a Bill," but for my money the pronouns one is underrated.)

[jay-ell]

I like "Lolly Lolly Lolly (Get your Adverbs Here)."