Link: You can vote for this review on Amazon-UK here. Thanks. What is middle age? As human life expectancy changes, so does this marker. I did wonder about those in today's world who are born with a life expectancy in the 30s or 40s. Surely their teenage years can't be called their "middle age". Luckily … Continue reading The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain
Tag: Science
“Women in tech”: what gives?
(Long post alert!) The meme is old but the current phase may well have started with Tereza's idea of starting an XX Combinator, an incubator for women entrepreneurs. New York based VC, Fred Wilson gave the idea wings on his blog. He was then quoted in a now-widely discussed Wall Street Journal article, in which … Continue reading “Women in tech”: what gives?
The Checklist Manifesto
Link: You can vote on my Amazon Review here. Atul Gawande's The Checklist Manifesto: How To Get Things Right comes close on the heels of Umberto Eco's The Infinity of Lists. Both books are about lists and both emphasise the ability of lists to bring about order and control. Both books attracted me because I … Continue reading The Checklist Manifesto
Whose data are they anyway?
What a difference two days make! First, T-Mobile in the UK informed the Information Commissioner's Office that some of its own rogue employees had sold on the firm's contract customer data to third parties. These third parties then ring the contract customers just before their contract expiry to offer deals that may or may not … Continue reading Whose data are they anyway?
Lessons for success from Darwin’s life
For nerds, scientists and Charles Darwin fans, the year 2009 is a bumper year. It is both the 200th year of his birth, and the 150th year of the publication of The Origin of Species. Through the summer, I spent many a fascinating afternoon in Down House, where Darwin lived with his family after returning … Continue reading Lessons for success from Darwin’s life
Admirable women-in-technology: Ada Lovelace Day 2009
Today is Ada Lovelace Day 2009, an international day to celebrate women excelling in technology. "Who was Ada?", you may well ask. The answer is here. I signed a pledge to write today about a woman - or women - in technology that I admire. I interpret the brief loosely. I believe technology is not … Continue reading Admirable women-in-technology: Ada Lovelace Day 2009
Second outing: Lost in translation
This post first appeared in November 2007, and generated a fair bit of dialogue. In the meanwhile, of course, we have found ourselves amid the mother of all recessions. In part, the crisis illustrates how silos of specialist information can create risks, beyond the comprehension of those in charge of managing and mitigating it. I … Continue reading Second outing: Lost in translation
The Tiger That Isn’t, or why you needn’t be afraid of numbers
Link: You can vote on the Amazon review of this book here. "I think numbers are the best way to represent the world's uncertainties", "I see numbers, I question them and I can interpret them for the less numerate", "I see numbers and I freeze". These three possible options are based on a rough categorisation … Continue reading The Tiger That Isn’t, or why you needn’t be afraid of numbers
Art or Science?
Is management an art or a science? This is the direction in which the conversation in the comments section of an earlier post on Recession-proofing Your Career veered. The answer, just as with other questions in life, is not clear cut, nor all-pleasing at all times. But to me, the question should be different. Are … Continue reading Art or Science?
Lost in translation?
Long post alert! As information overload grows, it seems the world is getting lost in translation. This confusion and lack of clear communication goes beyond linguistic and grammatical faux pas. The problem is more serious and manifests in many ways. However the smallest hope of comprehension finds itself inextricably lodged in the cracks, some feel … Continue reading Lost in translation?
