Frank and Ernest by Thaves for May 12, 2024

Hmm. I thought this was going to be a reference to “Hidden Figures.”

If man is the most extraordinary computer, then we should be able to get on the Internet on our own without having to rely on machines.

His speech was both frank and earnest.

Uh oh. Looks like Susy picked the wrong day to go commando under her gown.

Excellent commentary despite the source.

The final comment is extremely applicable in so many ways. When I did something stupid, rather than lecture me or rant, Dad usually offered a simple comment that, in a few softly spoken words, pointed out the logical alternative. Those usually stuck with me much longer than when others ranted and steamed.

Knew a sergeant in USAF who loved to tear up recruits for the least infraction. His sidekick usually just drifted near any lad who was edging into troubled waters, [there were lots of us] quietly suggested the proper ‘if-then’ way to do a thing, and walked away. Got a lot better response from youngsters only a week or two away from home and family and who were mostly adrift in their ‘new’ world.

Later, I found that worked equally well with our sons and with the students where I taught. Was grateful for having learned that.

I think I’m becoming legacy code.

“Our problems are man-made.” And can, therefore, most often be corrected by no longer doing the thing that caused the problem. All too often we just do things that cause more problems or even do more of the thing that causes the problem.

Not all problems are man made but solutions must be found for continued progress.

“Working an integral or performing a linear regression is something a computer can do quite effectively. Understanding whether the result makes sense — or deciding whether the method is the right one to use in the first place — requires a guiding human hand. When we teach mathematics we are supposed to be explaining how to be that guide. A math course that fails to do so is essentially training the student to be a very slow, buggy version of Microsoft Excel.” —Jordan Ellenberg, professor of mathematics, University of Wisconsin–Madison, How Not To Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking (2014)

Were there computers when JFK was alive?

“We shape our tools and, thereafter, our tools shape us.” — John Culkin