As the week winds down, we wind down with some tidbits for your information, education, health, and enjoyment.
Quote of the Week: “Google is working on self-driving cars, and they seem to work. People are so bad at driving cars that computers don’t have to be that good to be much better. Any time you stand in line at the DMV and look around, you’re like, ‘Oh, my God, I wish all these people were replaced by computer drivers.’†Marc Andreessen
Humor Break: You and I wouldn’t do something like this (would we?), but here are three very popular search requests on Google Search:
1. When will I die?
2. When will I get married?
3. When will the world end?
Stat of the Week: 1 in 7 billion. Type in any request in a Google Search and you will be the only person in the world to get that result. Any other person on any other computer can type in that exact same word or words and they will get different results. Why? Because Google knows you. It is called Personalization. Google has created a filter bubble which allows in what you think is relevant.
Action Tip: What is important to this Googlization/filter bubble is what it leaves out. In fact, it usually filters out what is important. Don’t believe me? Please watch this 10 minute TED-Talk called The Filter Bubble. The speaker makes a good case for what Google Search does, but makes an even better case for what Google Search does not do. And in the end he gets a standing ovation from an audience that includes a whole bunch of sophisticated computer types. After watching the video, if you want more you can read his book: The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You.
Self-Development Corner: Here are next week’s free online university courses which may be of interests to our readers:
Business and Management Courses: An Introduction to Corporate Finance (Oct. 28, 6 weeks, University of Pennsylvania – Wharton); Financial Engineering and Risk Management Part I (Oct. 28, 6 weeks, Columbia University); Markets with Frictions (Oct. 28, 6 weeks, University of Wisconsin); Inspiring Leadership through Emotional Intelligence (Oct. 28, 8 weeks, Case Western Reserve University).
Computers and Science Courses: Data Analysis (Oct 28, 8 weeks, Johns Hopkins University); Conception et mise en oeuvre d’algorithmes (Oct 28, 8 weeks, L’École polytechnique – for our French speaking readers); Comprendre les Microcontrôleurs (Oct 28, 7 weeks, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne – for our French speaking readers); Analytic Combinatorics (Nov 1, 6 weeks, Princeton University); Algorithms, Part II (Nov 1, 7 weeks, Princeton University).
Health and Medicine: Diabetes: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Opportunities (Oct 28, 5 weeks, UC San Francisco); Useful Genetics Part 1 (Nov 1, 6 weeks, University of British Columbia); Antimicrobial Stewardship: Optimization of Antibiotic Practices (Nov 1, 6 weeks, Stanford University).
Happy learning!
Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.
