Chapter20.Not So Random Numbers


Chapter 20. Not So Random Numbers

When it comes to calculating things these days, we have a bewildering array of tools in front of us. Unfortunately, we often don't use the most powerful one of allour brain. What I'm trying to say here is that we sometimes jump into the middle of figuring something out by opening a blank spreadsheet when what we really need to do is consider what it is we are trying to accomplish. Don't let the tool govern the method of solution. The old adage applies: To the man with only a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

There's a good antidote to this reflex, one I have used for many years. I imagine that I have the problem and am stranded on a desert island. How would I approach the solution using only the tools of Archimedesmy brain and a stick to draw diagrams in the sand? (Of course, it would help to have Archimedes' brain, but that is not an option.) So the rules are simple: I can do whatever calculations I want, but I have to be able to write them in the sand.[1] What problems can still be countenanced?

[1] I do get to use as much sand as I want, sort of like having an infinite supply of paper. This basically means I don't have to remember all my intermediate results, but can "store" them for future use.

Of course, the answer is that we can do some pretty interesting things. And surprisingly, sometimes problems that appear to be quite simple at the outset require more thought and calculation than evident at first blush. The rest of this chapter tells the story of Roscoe Leroy and such a problem.[2] I do give him the additional crutches of pencil and paper and his trusty slide rule; but as I point out later, these are really a luxury.

[2] We have previously dealt with Roscoe in Chapters 5, 10, 11, 14, and 15.




The Software Development Edge(c) Essays on Managing Successful Projects
The Software Development Edge(c) Essays on Managing Successful Projects
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2006
Pages: 269

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