La crise, quelle crise ?

Auteur/autrice : marc

  • If you are not scared, you are not growing…

    https://unsplash.com/oliverpacas
    https://unsplash.com/oliverpacas

    Day 552. Taking risk is an inherent part of our lives. Unfortunately, society has become complacent and education has moved generations of kids in a « no risk » zone, due to increased lawsuits. People are therefore considering risks as something to avoid at all price. However, not taking risks is the greater risk of all. Not taking risk is putting yourself at the mercy of those who will take risks. Not taking risks is wearing the shoes of potential victims. Not taking risks is leaving the best opportunities to others.

    Taking risk does not mean betting your house or jumping from a cliff without any knowledge and experience of base jumping. Taking risks is all about moving out of the comfort zone, expanding its borders. Taking risks is jumping into the unknown, leading your life. Of course with risk comes fear that we may fail, fear that we may not be up to the game, fear that we may get hurt. With risk comes potential success, potential win, and potential growth. There’s a price to pay and rewards to win.

    With risk comes fear, meaning taking risk is a scary endeavor. The only sensible way to get rid of fear is to confront it, not to ignore it by turning your back. The first skydive will scare you, may be, the second will be smoother. Fear will keep you on your toes, will require that you are always walking on a high wire. Without a little pinch in your belly, you will become complacent and will stop growing, taking the risk of becoming obsolete. Every day, check if you are scared, at least a little, if not, you are just not growing. It’s a choice, but not taking risk is the greatest risk of all!

  • Do you speak Python and Java? 3 reasons you should!

    https://unsplash.com/timothymuza
    https://unsplash.com/timothymuza

    Day 551. Bob Lefsetz’ article on code struck a chord (struck a code?). Code is everywhere in our lives and most of us are at the mercy of coders. Whatever piece of technology any uses today contains some sort of code. Are you scratching your head at what I am saying? Let’s take three examples. You probably own a refrigerator. It probably has a digital display for temperature checking at least or more advanced features. Behind this display is a set of chips and some of it will have some basic intelligence in the form of a computer program, that’s been coded! Jump in your car. If it has been built-in the last ten years, it contains some form of computing power, and in this computer, there’s code. Embark on a plane. No computer, no modern plane. No code, no computer. And I could go on and on. As a matter of fact, it’s much more cost-effective and quicker to market to use generic hardware and code it with a purpose than to create specialized hardware. This is why the PC, the tablet and the phone are so popular and enable anybody to carry millions of different activities.

    And behind all those « things »(ever hear about the Internet of Things, if not, hurry up) is code. Code is a way to give orders to electronic devices, through the use of a specific language: C, Python, Java, just to name a few, there are hundreds, if not thousands of programming languages, but a handful are really used nowadays. I used to « speak » C, Pascal, Basic, Prolog, Java and Assembly almost fluently. Some years ago, I had fun programming my other web properties in Javascript and HTML5, just to check if I was not too rusted, and like riding a bike, you never forget. It squeaks a little at the beginning, then habits kick in again. As a matter of fact, coding has three characteristics:

    1. It’s fun: the fun of building something. If you were into Lego or building a house in a tree when younger, coding feels the same.
    2. It’s challenging: it scratches your brain, it forces you to find new ways, it defies your logic, you need to think hard (beautiful brain plasticity).
    3. It’s rewarding: when you run your executable or open your web page, it feels good (even if sometimes it does not work).

    I’m not even mentioning the fact that it can make you good money. Icing on the cake, coding is free. You can get development environment like Visual Studio or Eclipse for free, take online courses for free (you will find thousands of free courses on the web, like the ones available on coursera.org) and start coding for free. I am making sure my kids know how to code a computer. They may never be coding computers in the future (I bet Satya Nadella, Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Ellison do not code anymore), but they will have an edge over those who do not understand the power of the intricacies of computers. Ready to learn Ruby or Smalltalk?

     

  • You never thank too much

    https://unsplash.com/desimendoza
    https://unsplash.com/desimendoza

    Day 550. The most two powerful words of the English language are thank you! You never thank other enough or too much. Nobody’s forcing anybody to be kind and nice, to spend time cooking a good meal, to welcome you, to take care of your home when you’re away, to give you a helpful hand to finish a project, just to name a few things. Always take the time to thank others.

    I take this occasion to thank you for being my readers. I know some of you are reading every post, some are coming once in a while, and others come and go. Whatever you do, wherever you stay, whoever you are, thank you! With no readers, no bloggers. With no followers, no tweets. Do not hesitate to let me know if some topics resonate more than others, if you want me to write about some questions you have in your mind. I am serving you with my words. Once again, thank you for the depth of my heart..

  • 14 things to do more and 14 things to do less

    Day 549. Two simple so powerful lists

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    Found on theberry.com

  • The Greek crisis and the game theory

    https://unsplash.com/margaretbarley
    https://unsplash.com/margaretbarley

    Day 548. Greece and Europe are arm-wrestling. Yes, Greece needs to repay its debt, we all agree, including the Greek government. Although I am no subject-matter expert in the Greek crisis, I have read tons of articles on the whys and the hows of this crisis, and no one mentionned the fact that Yanis Varoufakis, the Minister of Finance, that everybody seems to like to hate, is one of the best experts in game theory.

    Read in Wikipedia: « Game theory is mainly used in economics, political science, and psychology« . Interesting that the first three topics are the one listed here. I would be a member of the famous troika, I would be worried playing chess with one of the best masters that exist. Imagine trying to beat Kasparov. You would probably gather all the best chess experts to get the best player to play. But still, there will be some uncertainty.

    Varoufakis and Tsipras seem to place a big bet on organizing the referendum this coming Sunday, but I bet this esteemed professor knows what he’s doing and knows the odds are in his favor. This is what probably worries the troika: what they saw as a dwarf they could command may actually be the David who defeated Goliath with his sling. The story’s not over and our game theorist is certainly enjoying the game.