MACHINE LEARNING
Thursday, September 16, 2021
We understand machinery.
We understand there is complexity and precision in how it works.
We know of gears and wheels, shafts and lubricants – they must mesh, must be in alignment and cannot overheat.
If we examine our lives and all those we connect with, work with, mesh with, it’s like those gears and shafts, machined to precision and installed in alignment – with lubricants and coolants to prevent overheating.
Poppycock!
If only we took that precise an approach, the kind that makes machinery work, that supports each app and program we use every day – in our discourse with people, colleagues and customers. That ‘full, true, and plain disclosure’ requirement for investments ought to apply to business discussions and dinner table discussions. Pillow talk too.
There is no place for partial truth. That would be like expecting performance from a half-installed machine or something coming out of an oven only half-baked could be enjoyable.
Relationships are emotional gearboxes, but who is tightening things when they are loose and lubricating them to keep them running smoothly?
No, we aren’t machines any more than machines are people, but we have some things in common and lessons to learn. We get overheated, cross-threaded, and locked-up sometimes when we get rigid in our thinking. To be flexible is no weakness. To be adjustable does not mean we are non-aligned.
To learn, for man or woman or machine, to use devices without letting them overtake our valuable input is something we need to be mindful of.
Soon, you might ask your lawnmower, fridge or washing machine to perform tasks without lifting anything heavier than a mouse – or simply shouting a command into a device.
Or course, machines might overtake us in many ways.
Today’s most important machines are neither loud nor synonymous with grinding gears. Our most modern machines are sensors and algorithms; they drive the world and know more and control more of our lives every day – they teach us to take the most convenient path to achieve the most desired result.
Simple.
Quick.
On the other hand, people are neither quick nor straightforward – they take time to win over, take time to convince, and require maintenance to keep humming along like a clock, a watch, a motor – engineered with precision, as our bodies and brains are too.
We really understand machinery. People, not so much …