CDOQ

This morning I finished reading Apple in China , a fascinating book about the interdependence between Apple and Chinese manufacturing. The book makes clear that the company might never have reached a $3T market cap without the contributions of Foxconn and support from the Chinese government. In turn, China might not have developed into a sophisticated manufacturing powerhouse without Apple’s training, investment, and partnership. Having worked with OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and ODMs (Original Design Manufacturers) in China, I found the book cast light on aspects of manufacturing I hadn’t fully appreciated. Apple Pyramid (Image credit: ChatGPT) Iconic products like the iPhone come to life at Apple through the push and pull of four teams. At the top, the Industrial Design (ID) team defines the look and feel. Next, the Product Design (PD) team ensures the product works as intended. The Manufacturing Design (MD) team then decides which components and assembly partners will br...

When we listen to stories we have the tendency to suspend disbelief in order to be entertained, says Paulos [John Allen]. But when we evaluate statistics, we are less willing to suspend disbelief in order that we are not duped.  Storytelling vs. Statistics  Paulos goes on to describe the two types of errors in formal statistics. Type I error occurs when we observe something that is not really there. A Type II error occurs when we fail to observe something that is actually there. According to Paulos, those who like to be entertained and wish to avoid making Type II error are more likely to prefer stories over statistics. Those who do not necessarily yearn for entertainment but are desperate to avoid Type I errors are apt to prefer statistics to stories.  - From the book: Investing - The last liberal art  

"Failure to explain is caused by failure to describe." - Benoit Mandelbrot

My dear friend, Ralph Abraham , passed away on September 19th, 2024. He was 88. It is one of the greatest honors of my life that Ralph considered me his friend. In my entire life, I have never met anyone whose intellectual depth, openness, and kindness matched Ralph's. My family and my parents feel the same.  I met Ralph in November 2009 at Esalen where I attended a workshop he taught on Human Potential . Since then, I met him regularly every three to four months for lunch. I cherished my time with him. I often joked that I didn’t understand half the things Ralph said, and the half I did understand made me rethink everything I knew. There is some truth in that joke.  Ralph discussing Consciousness  Ralph profoundly influenced me. Here are some of the ways: 1. Consciousness: This was probably the most discussed topic between the two of us. He shared with me that there are three levels of consciousness :  (i) Individual (humans and other sentient beings)  (i...

This morning, I finished reading The Grid by Gretchen Bakke . It is a fascinating read about the past, present, and the future of electricity.  Following are a few excerpts from the book:  ------ The subtle-seeming transition in the structure of circuitry, from series to parallel, was the grid's first revolution. Though we tend to give Thomas Alva Edison the credit for having invented the lightbulb (he did not), he did devise something just as remarkable - the parallel circuit, one of his greatest, if least lauded contributions to technological underpinnings of our modern world.  ------ By 1990, California had become home of 85% of the world's capacity of electricity powered by the wind and 95% of the world's solar power electricity.  California might have been the planetary center of wind energy in the mid-1980s, but their turbines were more machines for churning out visions of greener futures than actual watts.  America's first turbine engineers were aeronauti...

All Large Language Models (LLMs) outputs are probabilistic but we consider them as definitive. 

All human systems have their own variation of irrationality. 

The US election day becoming a paid holiday for all Americans is a small change that can have big consequences for the US. 

Present societal problems are the consequences of the past solutions. 

If a system is highly dependent on you then the system is penalized for your errors and you can gain from the errors of the system. 

If you are highly dependent on a system and the system does not depend on you then you are penalized for the errors the system makes and for the errors you make. 

Why is voting optional and taxation mandatory in democracies?

Large heterogeneous systems work well under global policies executed locally with variance and transparency. 

All systems become more corrupt with time. 

Sometimes, the study of the study is more insightful. 

I am saddened by the deaths caused by the coronavirus . At the same time, I am comforted by the humanity's response to the pandemic .  People are concerned for others and are practicing self-discipline. What can we do that this recognition of interconnectedness of all things, concern for the wellbeing of others, and a little sacrifice for the betterment of society continues after the pandemic  is over? Nkonsonkonsom: Adinkra symbol of unity and human relations 

Context  The last two decades have completely changed the technology (tech) sector. Cloud computing , smartphones, apps, and high wireless data speeds are taken for granted. These developments have created a dynamic tech ecosystem.  Figure 1: Technology Ecosystem abstraction with examples in each layer  Having worked with some very smart people to develop and market new products in all parts of the tech ecosystem - Networks and mobile phones ( SIEMENS ), Network Operators ( T-Mobile ), Semiconductors ( National Semiconductor ), Algorithms/Artificial Intelligence ( Audience ), Cloud-based Applications ( EVER , Moki ), Blockchain and Consumer Hardware ( Open Garden ) - gives me a unique perspective on how the technology ecosystem works and how it might evolve.  In this article, I share my view on what constitutes the technology ecosystem, what are the primary business drivers depending on a company's position in the ecosystem, and how the eco...