More Smarter Agents + LLMs = Superior Intelligence

 

Keep Exploring!!!

Learning moments

#Learningmoments - Getting things done, Delivering functional code on time is a key aspect of development. Option #1 - If find it already solved, I lookup #StackOverflow / #blogs and #integrate it works. After It is integrated, I move on to other #pieces of the problem. Option #2 - Some solutions even if we evaluate solutions in StackOverflow / blogs do not completely address our use case scenarios. After initial exploration, whiteboard, get back to #basics, get the building blocks again and find #optimal solution. Both #1 and #2 are part of learning. Option #2 takes time but also gives you deep clarity and analysis. Depends on #interest, #timelines, and team setup to deep dive. #Learning / incremental experience adds more perspective as we solve diverse use cases. #experience #learningeveryday #perspectives

The cycle of productivity - focus - inspirations

• Money is the outcome of knowledge
• Knowledge is the outcome of implemented ideas
• Ideas are the outcome of focused domain, data, implementation
• Ideas are the outcome of focused learning
• Focus is the outcome of the purposeful search for inspiration
• Inspiration is the outcome of curiosity and consistently looking out for great ideas
• Everything connects, habits emerge from small incremental motivations...

Reading / Filtering / Experimenting

Inspirations take time to spot

• Reading blogs
• Simple code flows. Well articulated
• Code runs in mind when you see it
• Constantly lookout to get/bookmark quality posts
• Share your views/perspectives big or small issues, It's ok write it up

Interesting Note

To get expertise it needs

Since we work from time to time on different problems with familiarity vs deep dive vs practice vs forgetful memory everything impacts. Tech landscape changes very often so again needs to be updated.

From link

• Start with the smallest working example
• Try to modify it and watch the results 
• Read or watch someone explain the technology
• Repeat steps as often as necessary

100 productivity tips

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫'𝐬 10 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐆𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐭

🔸 Come to work each day willing to be fired

🔸 Circumvent any orders aimed at stopping your dream

🔸 Do any job needed to make your project work, regardless of your job description

🔸 Find people to help you

🔸 Follow your intuition about the people you choose and work only with the best

🔸 Work underground as long as you can --publicity triggers the corporate immune system

🔸 Never bet on a race unless you're running in it

🔸 Remember, it's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission

🔸 Be true to your goals but be realistic about the ways to achieve them

🔸 Honor your sponsors

--Gifford Pinchot, Intrapreneuring, Harper & Row, 1985

Keep thinking!!!

30K, 10K feet to Building Algo perspectives

30K, 10K feet to Building Algo perspectives

• Get the 30K Feet Big Picture of Algo 
• Know the functions/methods implement
• Map it do applicable domains / use cases
• Apply First principles to learn basics
• Find gaps in fundamental assumptions vs algos vs intermediate gaps in learning
• Start Filling the gaps iteratively
• Build your own version of algo with first principles + domain + data + algo implementation

#KnowledgeBuilding #MLBytes

Keep Exploring!!!

Working on Weekends

 This tweet sync up with my opinions 

Unpopular opinion: Weekdays/weekend split isn't for everyone. It forces you to:

• work in low-energy days (just bc it's a week day)
• recharge on preset Sat/Sun days (you can't schedule when you'll need rest)
• rest two days in a row (when separating the two could do wonders)

— Ali Mese (@meseali) November 1, 2020

There are no fixed learning hours, moments. It is actually when you feel an optimal working environment that makes you more productive, the result is maximum learning impact.

For me weekdays build the list of To-do lists and weekends help me to find the right resources, examples to figure out and complete the list. There are learning moments on weekdays but It again depends on meetings/calls and the focus time that you do. 

This picture summarizes the perspective

Another good read, Fixing priorities, and focus. This is a great post in those lines.

Keep Thinking!!!

Spark Moment

I have been working on architecture/presentation for some time. I have always used reference slides, shapes in PowerPoint to build my architecture. Sometimes the right search keywords will yield the things you are looking for. Today I searched with environment + icons + PowerPoint. I got everything that I needed.

Search Keywords

• GCP icons PowerPoint
• AWS icons PowerPoint
• AZURE icons PowerPoint

Results - Google, Azure, AWS

All this I could have done long back, I would have prepared better architecture diagrams. Sometimes it's simple thought / right keywords that get you what you want and you have been searching for long. Similarly, we could be on the path to a solution but a little pivot could have actually got the solution way before.

Pressure vs Performance
Creativity vs Deadlines
Expertise vs Exposure

After all, we are learning about ourselves as well as about how to be productive with the time constraints, tasks to do, what best we can do.

A picture and words says a lot.... pic.twitter.com/MuU7gasdBP

— LearnLifeWealthTravel (@AnyBodyCanFly) June 29, 2020

Keep Thinking!!

Facebook + Reliance Jio (Privacy vs Preferences vs Recommendations)

This has been trending news last couple of days, Facebook investment in Jio. Let's look at stats

• India - 450 million active internet users
• Reliance Customer base - 369.93 million and market share to 32.04 percent in the telecom sector (Link)
• WhatsApp user base of 250-300 million in India (Link)
• FB users in India - 340 million (Estimated)

How Jio is evolving?

• Strategy #1 - High-Speed Free Internet @ low cost to Capture the market
• Strategy #2 - Leverage the customer base for the B2C segment
• Strategy #3 - Use FB details, Whatsapp details to understand user sentiments, choices, preferences

What Jio knows about customers

• Usage 
• Location Coordinates
• Gender / Behavioral Analytics

Social Media is giving away more and more information that was once deemed private

What Facebook knows about customers

• Social circle
• Financial status 
• Place you live 
• Place you work
• Education
• Buyer Sentiments
• Decode a lot more from your pictures
• FB technically can access whatever information that app accesses on your device
• Facebook is also a data and advertising platform

What can we do from a single picture on Facebook

• Age Estimation
• Emotions
• Clothing Factors
• Personality Type
• Lifestyle Patterns
• Gadgets / Cars / Things we live with
• Fashion Consciousness
• Brands Usage

We had already looked into this in related post decode your personality. 

There are many startups working in this space bringing the rural population on board. From Tiktok, Youtube, Facebook now it means Serious business. Facebook already has a proven history of data scandals. The visibility of data shared / people influenced will always be manipulated greatly. We end-users have no control over the influence of ads. Are they random or targeted based on our historical data?

Reference - Link
TikTok is a data collection service 

• Phone hardware (cpu type, number of course, hardware ids, screen dimensions, dpi, memory usage, disk space, etc)
• Other apps you have installed
• Everything network-related (ip, local ip, router mac, your mac, wifi access point name)

Another competitor that will be looked up will be Telegram. Telegram hits 400M monthly active users . There are other players in this segment.

Future Possibilities in Connecting Platforms + Users + Social Media Apps after Reliance jio + Facebook + WhatsApp. Future possibilities could be

• Airtel  / Vodafone + Telegram + Amazon 
• Airtel / Vodafone + Flipkart + Telegram  
• Google + Telegram

WhatsApp and Facebook will be invaded by ads, Stay tuned!!!

How the U.S. Military Buys Location Data from Ordinary Apps

Keep Thinking!!!

How to Track Possible Secondary and Tertiary Contacts of Infected Corona Patient

Tracking Potential Patients

• Identify places visited based on google history, GPS Tracking, Rides opted of Infected Patients
• Identifying their movements mapped to mobile signals, Nearest Mobile signals, This will also highlight potential mobile numbers in the vicinity
• Continuously monitoring the key factors, screening in regular intervals of Secondary and Tertiary Contacts
• Large Scale Screening / Complete Lockdown / Ban are travel are the only possible options to control the pace of virus 

Analyze COVID death rates

• Death rates reported from 2019 Jan to June 2019
• Death rates reported from 2020 Jan to June 2020
• %% increase in the death rate
• Number of reported COVID deaths
• Number of non-COVID deaths
• Match by age factor/ gender factor

To know the exact impact we need to compare, analyze by different dimensions and identify the insights 

Keep Thinking!!!

Career Lessons

I have gone through cycles of ideas, initiatives rejected, put down as it flows through leadership levels. Many times it got delayed but there were few memorable successes in #rewrite #warranty to XBOX, filing #retail patents, pushing ideas. I have observed myself going through frustration, rejection cycle. I was able to achieve those ideas in my next role the same/next company. It takes time to prove/demonstrate our ideas have potential. Sometimes we need to wait/ further sharpen our skills/ till the next role / next company to make the idea successful.

• Sometimes your best ideas will have no future, they will get killed. Keep going
• Keep versioning all your ideas and add techniques to improve upon it
• Build domain knowledge + AI to solve it optimally
• When people kill ideas, find a place to grow if you believe in your ideas
• 'Go' where you 'Grow', 'Grow' where you 'Go'

More Reads - Link

Accidental Leaders - (July 16th, 2020)

IT has a lot of accidental leaders. Years of experience may not reflect competency. Some categories of leaders

Idea Killers - Any idea you bring up to the table. The intention is to play a safe game. They view IT projects as sailing in smooth weather. Very less interest in innovation and pure 9-6 safe side players.

Jargon Gurus - Highly qualified, great connection with their ladder up. Any idea you take up they will provide a counter idea for it. Ultimately their goal is to prove the idea is not good enough to pursue

Enthusiast Leaders - They don't know about technical aspects but get carried away with wow factors. Their shortsightedness will not give them long term perspective

Passionate Leaders - Talk on your face, encourage the idea. Warn you when things fail but really back you when it fails. They are hard to work with but they take the organization to the next level.

The IT industry is a very hard industry to spot true leaders. All leaders who speak may not be good at execution. All leaders who deliver may not be good presenters. Keep going. Build the true leader in your inner self - Siva

P and L in Career

Yes, you guessed it right, It's Profit and Loss. Naaaa. My perspective is Passion and Learning.

Profit and Loss Perspective

• Goal is reach title / position / salary
• What is in it for me
• What's my next role
• Sell better

Passion and Learning

• Build expertise
• Continuously find new ways to implement ideas
• My vision will succeed one day
• Share credit and learning
• Customer needs to be happy
• It's okay to fail 

#HappyLearning
#Keep Thinking!!!!

Things to do during vacation before next move

• Feels like Summer Vacation, We don't forget things when we take a break. Its to unlearn, relearn, rejuvenate ourself
• No Deadlines is Freedom. Able to work on things you wanted to do. Clearing technical debts, meeting people, spending time with your parents
• Complete your pet projects
• Airplane mode - Reduce small talk/gossips. Focus on making it meaningful
• Prepare your health, mind for the next role. Since it's going to be again the learning curve, execution, focus on keeping your morale, health high

Keep Going!!!

Datascience Perspectives

I have worked in #database (Transactional Data), #businessintelligence (Historical Data) and then added science on top of data,  #datascience (Future Predictions). Everything is #connectedknowledge. #datascience sits on top of domain and data knowledge. Any #discipline can step up into #datascience with adequate #domain, #dataknowledge, and #upskilling

#ROI in data science is #valueaddition #preparedness for the future. For example, In the case of #salespredictions, It is the preparedness to address/meet the required sales numbers.  #Keepthinking #Moreperspectives

Keep Learning!!!

Quick ride prospects in 2020

Quick ride will take up rental cabs market in 2020, Below are compelling reasons for Quickride success

1. Quick ride is affordable (For me its 100/- quickride vs 400/- rental cab booking 1/4th of the cost)
2. Quick ride timing is predictable (Delay and timings are predictable, Predictably is much higher than Rental Cab booking platforms)
3. Quick ride has recurring booking options (From rides we make friends)
4. Quick ride makes you connect with like-minded tech folks, I found friends to mentor and learning from their experiences
5. No peak charges (your BP is in control) like Rental cab booking platforms
6. No cancellation charge 
7. More of service and less of business (This is innovative approach and understands the market)
8. Verified and most users are similar IT workers in Bangalore
9. Risk is minimal ( drunken driving / overcrowded vehicles are not there in quickride), Well maintained vehicles as its owner managed
10. Uber pool and Ola share failed miserably. Rather quickride created a market
11. Cons - Some people make quickride a business with targets to make money
12. 25% of market share in Bangalore of OLA / Uber will be takeup by Quickride in 2020 (My prediction)
13. Quick ride needs to expand to other regions/countries too

All the best Quickride team, Happy QuickRide!!!

Learning vs Compensation vs Titles

This question usually comes to me at different cycles. The experiences we gather from different roles and domains get accumulated and gives us perspectives unique to the domain.

After a decade I had options to choose

• Go forward in same Database space
• Setting up teams from scratch 
• Domain-based focus and build expertise
• Professional services, Automation, QA
• Learn something new

Every challenge once you solve becomes boring. Everything is difficult until you find a way to do it. Passion without skills won't get you where you want to go.

Five years back I decided to reboot myself in Data science space. Every other previous experience gave new perspectives to explore. Building expertise in one area, solving problems in a domain perspective, Working on creating unique IP, Learning other related tasks to delivery.

Many times in career I always get discussions and proposals to go back to previous roles. From data science now I get to hear Big Data + Data science skills. Even within data science to build expertise in video, numbers, text aspects, it needs deep dive and consistent focus for a certain period.

Close to two decades in a few years now question remains how long to remain as Individual contributor, Finding a role that uses all the previous experience, keeping up with titles?

The primary aspect of my satisfaction is learning. After a few years, there could be something that would replace today's data science.

As I grow older, I have to pick and choose my areas of interest, areas to focus on. I never met happiness focusing alone on titles or compensation. They also have a priority after satisfaction though. A job that gives you learning, exciting but not overwhelming challenges, manageable work-life, and compensation would be the best thing to look for and have satisfaction till the day of death. Sometimes you need titles to execute your strategy.

Compensation helps you meet your financial goals. The search is to find a role that gives you opportunities that meets your priorities and leverages your strengths. Career is a long term thing. Keep learning until you find your dream role. Be prepared for the role. Don't wait for titles to learn the role.

Interesting Read - An incomplete list of skills senior engineers need, beyond coding

My Perspectives

How to write a design doc, take feedback, and drive it to resolution, in a reasonable period of time

• Competitive product
• Papers Referenced
• Potential Architecture
• Prototype 
• Demo
• Next Steps

How to mentor an early-career teammate, a mid-career engineer, a new manager who needs technical advice

• What would I do if I am in your situation? This is how I look up and advise. We cannot learn everything. We have to pick and focus on few things which are important for us.

How to influence another team to use your solution instead of writing their own

• View it as a joint success. Sometimes you have to give credit to make things work. 

How to get other engineers to listen to your ideas without making them feel threatened

• You are not selling your idea, You are conveying how it is done across other industries/companies. You need to have a working demo, deep dive on the benefits of it. It may not work in the first go but over a period of time trust will develop

How to craft a project proposal, socialize it, and get buy-in to execute it

• Everything we pick someone who has already experimented / could be something ongoing. Give the context, potential value and take it to next level.

Keep going!!!

QA Tools (Eliminate Repetitive Efforts)

Very Interesting post Reusable Software? Just Don't Write Generic Code

I echo similar thoughts on developing tools. I personally prefer smaller utilities / tools than a large consolidated Suite. This again depends on knowledge depth / design exposure. Some of Advantages of smaller components / utilities are

• Working throw away solution solves current hunger while prioritizing on next set of applicable changes
• Smaller components with dedicated code ownership would help in better maintenance, customization
• Usually tools developed by one person ends up modified by someone else in team. The time to learn a complex solution which solves lot of use cases needs greater functional knowledge and time

When we develop / consolidate different framework we would end up implementing

• Abstraction layers
• Inheritance

Level / Depth of it depends on skillset, exposure. The intent of the post was to minimise efforts to maintain tools developed. Considering the team skills, functional knowledge, ownership aspects, maintainable tools would be a better option than developing a large suite over extended period of time

Interesting line reposted from the post

"Writing small components will give your software a high chance of survival: all individual components are easy to use and understand, and are usable on their own in various use cases"

Happy Learning!!!