The problem of exponential increases in the amount of information available without a corresponding rise in the availability of resources to process and act upon it is not new. It is, however, becoming more pronounced and having more significant implications for individuals and organizations. In our new world of big data, we sometimes lose sight of the knowledge it should have obtained for us.

Data is not enough.

• Sifting through large numbers of irrelevant records may be impressive for a time, but it will ultimately prove to be detrimental, as it diminishes one’s ability to solve real problems or even know what they are.

Analytics tools do not justify irrelevant investments.

• Pretty charts and graphs tend to sell well (at least with certain measurement-minded stakeholders), but a graph is useless if it plots meaningless data.

Bit rot is a growing concern.

• We can readily access books written 500 years ago.
• We sometimes have tremendous difficulty accessing computer files created only 10-15 years ago.
• As platforms become more closed and device manufacturers trend toward the creation of self-contained machines, there is an increased challenge of maintaining complete archival copies.
• The only way to prevent bit rot is to vigilantly maintain archival systems that use current best practices.

Digital information is fundamentally different from analog information.

• Adopting the approach one would have with analog media, only in a digital environment, fails to secure the primary potential benefits of digital interactions.
• Non-linear organization is cumbersome with paper, but it is often ideal for software.
• With powerful tools for search and retrieval, storing information should be organized around logical mental processes, not constricted to obsolete file storage requirements.

Failure to train oneself to adapt to the new digital world brings long-term stagnation.

• Change is inevitable. This is true in many areas, not only in the world of technology, but it must be thoroughly understood that ours is a world of technology.

Managing and interacting with digital information is a critical twenty-first century core competency.

Even robust digital information systems have points of profound fragility.

Despite the challenges of digital infrastructure, one must move forward rather than backward.

You can improve the state of your own digital information management.

• Consider using a more limited device that forces you to focus on one thing at a time.
• Use distributed mechanisms to ensure that your data is stored in multiple places.
• Make regular backups and test them.
• Refuse to rely on outdated systems; rather, try to be an early adopter of new technologies, so that you are not left behind by the accelerating pace of technological change. Remember Zip drives?
• Think of your digital environment as something requiring periodic cleaning, much like your physical environment.

Practical Suggestions

• Use Evernote to record notes on a computer, smartphone, and tablet.
• Use Time Machine to automate local backups.
• Use CrashPlan to automate offsite backups.
• Migrate away from physical media as much as possible.
• Plan to replace or at least revise your digital storage regularly.
• Commit to a collection of applications and use them.
• Try new software, but require a compelling reason for switching.

permalink software

Watch Helvetica (Amazon, iTunes) and become obsessed with typefaces.

Watch Objectified (Amazon, iTunes) and think about the design of objects.

Watch Urbanized (Amazon, iTunes) and consider the planning of cities, including potentially disturbing implications.

Watch Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview (Amazon, iTunes) and witness delightful, singular brilliance.

Read The Design of Everyday Things and be mindful of door handles, tea cups, and much more.

Work through Hack Design and behold a new sense of taste.

permalink learning

Check for undocumented assumptions about input and output.

Every point of interaction with an external system is a potential point of data integrity violation.

Refactoring code can be an excellent way to resolve issues. Code should evolve over time.

If there are pieces of code that are not clear, make them more clear.

There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies. The first method is far more difficult.

C.A.R. Hoare

It helps to have a second set of eyes examine code. What takes hours for one to see may be observed by another in moments, even if the two have similar levels of skill.

Check for interactions involving dates and times. Operations involving time involve more factors and have greater potential for error than almost any other interactions one can implement.

Make sure that adequate mechanisms are in place for gracefully handling errors.

Test coverage is helpful, but it does not guarantee that code will work as expected in real world scenarios; user interactions and external factors can greatly influence application performance.

Clarity and simplicity are central considerations in code quality.

Are you reinventing things that should not be reinvented? Ruby gems (for example) can provide significant functionality for free that would otherwise require significant development effort.

Deliberately try to break your application. If you test and do not find issues, first assume that there must be something wrong with your testing. The goal of testing is to find bugs, and bugs there will almost certainly be.

If you are a nontechnical founder, become technical. Especially if you’re bootstrapped. Otherwise you will be unable to evaluate the merit of technical decisions.

permalink programming software

I once heeded Fox News,
And staunchly held its views.

Gradually, however, I became more curious,
Beginning to explore issues that make it furious.

Alas, there are questions that it will not ask,
And I could no more in its perspective bask.

What had once seemed to be a treasure trove
Held many antics of Cheney and Rove.

I listened to O’Reilly and to Rush,
But the religious right became less lush.

I learned that two contrary views
Do not enable one to choose,
For truth may not be in the one
Or the other when all is done.

Heeding Left and Right
Keeps one from true might.

There is a broader reality,
One with a measure of gravity.

Global awareness is important,
But impart this most sources can’t.

I thought Republicans right and Democrats wrong,
But then I found that both were faulty all along.

Listening to other sources
Taught me as much as some courses.

Confidence blooms in fields of ignorance,
But true knowledge brings greater relevance.

The enticements of fanaticism
Cannot stand up to sound criticism.

The noise of network news
Does not build prudent views.

In short, one must strive to be factual
Before starting to be political.

Having greater awareness and increased uncertainty,
There is now more room for intellectual liberty.

permalink politics

God has revealed Himself in time according to a sequential account of redemptive history, and beginnings are foundational to our understanding. Rudimentary matters must be reviewed and cherished if they are to bring about the comprehension and application suitable to their glorious essence.

In the creation we see ourselves, and we discover something about our Creator. We learn why we are so thoroughly flawed, and we understand our own ineptness to do anything about it. To know the beginning as God has recorded it is to behold an understanding of the divine and of the human. Theology and anthropology are shaped by the historical narrative with which our exposure to the divine revelation commences.

We see heroes and villains, though mostly ordinary agents whose lives and exploits are orchestrated by the One who does all things well. It is better than we are, and this is why we must read and heed it.

Our “better selves” are thoroughly illusory; left alone we would be worse than we are. Looking back, we see that dreams of former glory and good old days imagine a fictitious reality. Observing where and how the story of life begins, we find peace, not in nostalgia for days gone by, but in the hope of a promise to come, a promise that we of a later era can observe in its delightful and effective fulfillment.

permalink theology