The importance of trivia

Given the almost constant access to the facts of the world, what is the function of knowing trivia?

One element of creativity is combining two or more different ideas (e.g., someone was the first person to put peanut butter and chocolate together for the eternal betterment of the world). The free recall of facts and figures is grist for that creative mill.

Trivia can be the start but is never the finish.

How much data is enough?

How do you know when you have collected enough data for a project?

Do you collect data until ...

you pass a criteria set before the start?

you pass an arbitrary statistical significance test?

you find something interesting?

you find something meaningful?

you run out of resources (i.e., money, time, or subject pool)?

you satisfy every reviewer?

you get published?

What I Use: Wolfram|Alpha Computational Knowledge Engine

Wolfram|Alpha Computational Knowledge Engine is a sleeping giant. It is a different service than the typical search engine by organizing the knowledge it provides. That basic synthesis helps make sense of the Internet's informational fire-hose tendency.

Wolfram|Alpha is an intergal part of my workflow as a trusted source for specific knowledge. That knowledge is more important to my work than just facts. One specific example to Matlab programming is finding the precise RGB values by simply typing in the common name. It also provides fact-based context, either to generate ideas or frame conversations. It is a great service that is getting better. I have seen the consistent and continuous improvements in the both breath and depth of the service during the time I have used it.

A good place to start is the examples page.

Tufte makes curry

Yesterday at a big box supermarket, I stumbled on this:

These two coconut milks appear to be nearly identical products. Given they were representing themselves as commodities, I was solely making my choice based on price. However, the store didn't make my choice simple or easy.

The can on the left retails for $1.39. The can on the right retails for $3.00 for 5. Furthermore, the prices are listed in different font sizes. Why isn't the price listed for an individual can, even though the cans differ in size by 0.5 oz? I was drawn to the red box, which reads "$1.65 per pound" for the left one and "the price is "$3.95 per quart" for the right one! The store chooses different metrics for the same goods, thus making a meaningful comparison very difficult. Imagine one gas station selling gas by the gallon and another station selling it by the pound. Because those stickers are unnecessarily different on multiple levels, the don't serve their function as more objective sources of information.

There is both a science and art in creating meaningful information. A foundation in basic science is a good place to start.

Real Problems

Problems worth solving are not always the same as:

• the easiest to solve problem

• the most apparent problem

• the first problem

• the latest problem

• the loudest problem

• the most popular problem

• other people's problems

The Neurobiology of Enchantment

One key tenant of enchantment is applying the power of unexpected positive surprises. Everyone likes unexpected positive surprises. There is a biological reason for it, like all human properties.

Reward Prediction Error (RPE) theory predicts that unexpected positive surprises are more rewarding than expected positive events. Think about wining the lottery vs. last week's paycheck, even if they are same monetary value. The underlying mechanism of this effect is the unique biology of dopamine. Dopamine is the stuff of addiction (e.g., casinos and the *caines). That addiction can be positive or negative.

Dopamine and enchantment are powerful stuff. Use them wisely.

By the way, Enchantment is Guy Kawakisi 's latest book. Check it out. I did from my local library.

What I Use: Keyboard Shortcuts

It should not come as huge surprise I'm addicted to keyboard shortcuts, given my love of TextMate* and my fully-loaded 17'' MacBook Pro. Together we take on the world. Keyboard shortcuts let me fly through the busy work and allow me to focus on creating great stuff. You can find THE list of mac keyboard shortcuts here and a good textmate keyboard shortcut cheat sheet here.

Those are just the raw tools. Most people try to start by memorizing the first one that catches their eye. They try to remember, by sheer force of will, it and hope to recall it during their usual workflow. It could sit unused in their "psyche buffer" for 1 second or 1 day. That is the hard and inefficient path towards becoming a knowledge worker ninja. Additionally, it is easy to become overwhelmed with almost never ending list of keyboard shortcuts.

I have an experimental cognitive psychology twist on learning keyboard shortcuts.

It is the "glue game." Every time you sit down at your computer, your hands are "glued" to the keyboard. You lose the current round in the game when you touch the mouse (the trackpad counts, too). Your score is how much work you can do without touching the mouse. After you lose the current round by touching the mouse, you look up the specific keyboard shortcut for that action. You back up a couple of actions steps and use the shortcut. The next round of the game starts after you get up and sit back down. Each round should last a little longer and you should learn a single specific meaningful shortcut.

It is the easiest and quickest way to learn the actual keyboard shortcuts you use. It is called chaining in the business.

One of my favorite chains is:

⌘tab, repeat until textmate is selected

⌘N

⌘S

Five tabs

Up and down arrows into Dropbox

Return

That chain puts me in textmate, opens a new file, and saves to it to my dropbox folder, which lives in my sidebar. I can capture and, more importantly, never lose every idea, brilliant or not, I have. I started by learning ⌘tab link and then I added the ⌘N link. I added one link at a time until I created that complete chain.

Leave a comment with your single favorite keyboard shortcut chain.

*Do not comment or ask me about textmate 2!

Science by proxy

I value primary data and theories over science by proxy. Science by proxy (e.g., popular press articles, podcasts, and blogs) are the warmed-over rehashings of primary science. Frequently, it reposting without analysis. Primary data and theories are difficult. They require domain knowledge and a deep reading to gain understanding. Science by proxy on the other hand is addictively easy to produce and consume.

Science by proxy points to actual science but is not actual science. In a similar way, google is links to the web (not the actual web), wikipedia is facts about the world (not the actual world), and facebook is information about your friends (not your actual friends)*.

* I read that keen observation somewhere but am unable to cite it.

n of 1 always beats n of 0

An anecdote can be a first data point.

And data trumps speculation.

A Cheat Sheet for MATLAB

I love MATLAB.* It is a seamless workflow environment from experimental design to manuscript-ready figures, including data collection, high-level analysis, and computational modeling. As a result, my work is faster, easier, and higher quality by remaining within a single computer application.

However, MATLAB has a steep learning curve. I have been using it for so long I forget how difficult it is to initially learn. MATLAB is literally a foreign language with its own vocabulary, syntax, and thought patterns. Over the years, I have developed a method to teach Matlab with minimal time and pain. The complete method is beyond the scope of a blog post, but I can share a quick tactic. After the initial ramp-up, I hand my mentee "MATLAB for the Faint Hearted". It is the one-stop shop cheat sheet for MATLAB, my mentee no longer has to consult the multi-volume(!) Matlab manual to answer a simple question.

I wish I could give credit to the originator of "MATLAB for the Faint Hearted," but the exact origins of the document are lost in the mists of history. I have updated and expanded it over the years. Now I have decided to share it:

"MATLAB for the Faint Hearted."

PDF version

Quick Tip - If you ever get really frustrated with Matlab, type "Why" in the Command Window!

* Do you have to shout it every time you say it?

Looking past the fringe

The fringe of science gets the most attention. The new and weird of science is overrepresented in most media. The central tenants, or core, of science is not "news," by definition. However, a stronger understanding of them in a chosen field will provide a better long-term return on investment for your limited time and attention.