trentnix

The Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance is a great example of this. His intensity, focus, and arrogance was/is maniacal. Even in a world of hyper-competitive egos, he's in a class by himself. And that mania resulted in his alienation of almost everyone around him - namely his own teammates. Steve Jobs, as mentioned in the blog, was similar. Loud firings, public insults, and fits of condescension haunt his legacy. And worse, the world is full of sociopaths mimicking the worst of Jordan and Jobs, mistakenly thinking being an asshole is the secret ingredient to great success. But it's not.

I'm friends with a semi-retired public high school basketball coach who is broadly considered a "living legend". He won 19 state championships, 1300 games, and is a part-time assistant even in his 70s. His winning percentage over his entire career is in excess of 90%, which is simply an absurd accomplishment.

As the son of a successful basketball coach (and have another HS Hall-of-Fame caliber coach in the family), I'm familiar with the passion and intensity of successful coaches. I know the hours they put in, the focus they demand, and how the best coaches build programs, not teams. I know how they commonly hate losing much more than they enjoy winning.

But this "legend" I know, on the surface, seems an outlier in both success and behavior.

He's broadly known for his calm, cool demeanor. He has only received two technical fouls in his career, one for a clerical error and the other for a technicality. He doesn't raise his voice. He doesn't get excited or upset. He's "mild-mannered" in a world of red-faced, hyper-competitive rage monsters. If it weren't for his peerless success, his mild temperament would probably be viewed as a liability.

He's universally loved by his players, his peers, and his assistants. He's generous with his time and energy, willing to share his knowledge and experience with anyone who will listen. Those that know him talk about him as a good person first, and a coaching prodigy second.

But underneath his calm demeanor is a tireless, never-satisfied intensity that demands the best from players, schools, and parents alike. He's examining every angle. He's using every moment afforded to him for maximum effect. Even if there is a day off, it's in service of a bigger plan.

He sees how all the little habits, the little behaviors, and little efforts achieve big goals in aggregate. He watches Junior High B-teams practice to make sure everything is done right and that his coaches are investing in each player appropriately. And he makes sure each player is investing in themselves. He's conducting a symphony and passionately ensuring each note is being played as best it can.

He's also very straightforward, to his players, to their parents, to the administration, and to anyone that will listen. He knows what he wants from his players in practice, in the game, and in all other avenues of their lives. He sets lofty but attainable goals for each of them. He doesn't sugar coat anything. He is willing to tell the truth even when a lie would be easier. But that truth is always in the same calm, cool demeanor he coaches with.

His ability to direct his intensity productively is world class. I don't think it's any surprise that other extremely high achievers, like Steve Jobs, were able to do the same. But he's proof you don't have to treat people poorly to succeed at the highest level in your field.

That doesn't mean I haven't had a handful of issues, such as several swollen batteries that caused problemss with the touch pad and keyboard. But Dell fixed the ones (onsite!) that occurred during the warranty period and I was able to fix the ones that occurred outside the warranty period.

The only issue that really sticks with me is one I had with motherboard fan controls (not lights, but fan speed) in an Alienware R6 that could only be engaged and adjusted via Windows software. Thanks to proprietary Dell bios shenanigans I couldn't get control of the fan via Linux no matter what I tried.

That said, I don't find this "Create Edition" model appealing for so many of the reasons other posters have pointed out (price, Windows preinstalled, etc.). And I really dislike monitors that use uncommon resolutions (I think this one is 3200x2000).

Copilot schedules the meeting, takes notes during the meeting, chirps at you via teams during the meeting, provides a summary in Teams after the meeting parroting what you just heard, and then asks if you want it to schedule a follow-up. It's so helpful![/sarc]

I'm seeing non-engineers use AI to send more emails, have more meetings, create more documents, and create more dashboards. So much of the busy work that happens in corporate environments was never that valuable in the first place. A firehose of busy work doesn't move any needles that matter.

I can't help but read that in the Critical Drinker's voice.

Are there any mathematicians who are genuinely excited about this tremendous leap forward in mathematical knowledge? Where are those articles?

The cathedrals are burning. No doubt there will be collateral damage, but I think it’s a cleansing fire.

Perfectly and succinctly said.

The job market is the pits and feels more like a game of musical chairs than an evaluation of aptitude and ethics. Lots of old paths are getting very narrow. Some are closing.

But we now have tools that let you just build big things, all by yourself. In this new world, bonafide coding expertise is helpful. But it's not required. New graduates should just get out there and start making things.

- plan youth soccer practices

- develop well-formatted soccer game substitution schedules

- build and ship software in languages I haven't used in 25 years on platforms I've never programmed for

- do meal planning and build shopping lists

- prepare grocery shopping carts

- solicit medical advice

- perform Garmin watch data analysis

- administer devices (with SSH access) using natural language

- avoid counterfeit soccer jersey purchases

- create "Warrior Cat" graphic novels

- make cartoon strips

- troubleshoot appliances

- manage finances

- review accounting ledgers

- diagnose malware infections

- so much more

And we do it all from a simple prompt that we can talk to if we choose.

I've built more (and better) software in the past month than I did in any given year in the 30+ years I've been programming.

I can understand pessimism regarding how this affects society. I can understand pessimism regarding how this gets abused. But for the life of me there's no good reason at all to be pessimistic about how quickly this has improved.

What a time to be alive.