The Key to Entrepreneurial Self-Discipline

Do you have the required level of self-discipline to work for yourself, as an entrepreneur, for just one hour a day for a minimum of five days a week? If so, could you double the time? Does anyone want to make a bet for how long I can keep this up?

Winning an Argument Won't Give You What You Really Want

Answering before listening is both stupid and rude. (Proverbs 18:13, The Message)

A few days ago, my roommate and I had a yelling match against each other. We were both *so* right and the other had no right to get in the way of the obvious truth. Of coarse, this didn't work. We both wanted the other to yield without asking why the other's view was so important in the first place. Proverbs 18:13 came to my mind but I didn't like it. How could I bear listening to another's opinion regarding something that I fervently held as my own business. Still, as Lex Luther would say, one can never have too much information. Since the equation of how things would work out between me and my roommate was unsolvable, I took the Bible up on it's suggestion, which was humbling to say the least when it involved *my* own business. I cooked breakfast for my roommate and asked him all about his views regarding our disagreement. I did my best to understand and repeat what he said back in my own words without even getting into my opinions. He was quite reasonable. Then something else happened that I didn't expect. I genuinely appreciated his stance for the first time since our disagreement and couldn't explain how happy I was. The situation wasn't solved yet, but still, the equation had been simplified immensely. Over the next few days I thought about it and finally sent an email to my roommate.

I maintain my stance with appreciation for a good portion of yours.

Short and sweet! Originally I had planned to send a massive letter explaining my view and, to some extent, my self-righteousness. After thinking about the situation for hours and asking others for their general opinions, I realized that some people will simply disagree with my fundamental beliefs and others won't. Either way, there are usually reasons. This response did more than a whole letter could have. It did even more than arguing with my roommate and having the last word could have. This one-sentence reply showed respect for my roommates view while being true to myself and my self-respect. Originally my roommate was upset that I didn't listen to him. Now, he got his wish and I got mine, which is far more important than agreeing over a situation.

The Joy of Linux

The Joy of Linux, by Michael Hall and Brian Proffitt, isn't so much a technical discussion of Linux as much as it's a focused look into the community and culture behind it. In a continuously witty and upbeat style, the book begins with one of the authors learning how to install a digital camera in Linux. Sure it took unimaginably longer to do in Linux than it would have in an officially supported Windows environment, but human capital and the number of friends the author has increased as a result. Beyond the joy Linux hackers experience in learning a new programming language, the book delves into topics such as Free and Open Source software, corporate acceptance, choice, and more than anything else the community of users willing to help each others out. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what long time Linux users enjoy about their favorite OS. As someone who has used Linux for some time now, I found The Joy of Linux an easy going and refreshing read.

Accurate Floating Point Addition

Will G, a friendly university tutor, asks "Does changing the order from largest to smallest first, among an infinite set of numbers following the pattern 1, 1/2, 1/3, etc, ever change the result's level of accuracy?" The sum is certainly the same no matter which way it's added up in real life because no matter how small a number is, it can always be represented by a fraction. However, a computer's floating point arithmetic doesn't use fractions. This creates the possibility of a loss in precision when adding an insignificant number to a relatively significant number. The set of numbers mentioned earlier can be added using the pattern 1 + 1/2 + 1/3 and so on. The running sum becomes exceedingly more significant relative to the next number being added. Eventually, the next number being added will become so insignificant relative to the running sum that it experiences a loss in precision! Consider adding the smallest numbers before the larger. The running sum becomes increasingly significant, once again, but so does the next number being added. Sure there will be a loss in precision, but it will be much less than adding the largest numbers together first. The order that a diverse set of numbers is added on a computer makes a difference, indeed!

The best way to add a diverse set of numbers together is by sorting them by magnitude, beginning with the smallest. Then proceed to add the numbers together from the front of the list. Once again, this ensures that as little precision as possible is sacrificed by the computer for the sake of using the floating point method of arithmetic.