jog: 0;
learn: 0;
swim: 0;
Shopping: 12:30pm-6:30pm,
Target, $330, Rach 99, $130, Staples, $68;
For Day 106,
TYM: writing;
Monthly Archives: December 2015
HABITS: WRITING
As my swimming experience testifies, habits can be deliberately planned and developed. So there must be something magic about repeated actions:
When an action is repeated, we no long think about it consciously; instead, we internalize it and code it into the brain as our second nature.
Here is my next planned habit: WRITING. Just as I did with swimming, set a fixed time, do it every day, make it a routine. I will check out three weeks later.
[sunset, I-5, CA, 10/05/2011]
HABITS: SWIMMING
They say it takes three weeks to forge a habit. Here is my answer on swimming.
[Atlanta, June, 2005]
Day 104, 5pt, 12.30W
jog: 3m;
learn: Luenberg, finish 5.4;
swim: 24r;
TYM: writing, unproductive;
grocery shopping in Pavillions, $35;
For Day 105,
TYM: writing;
[TYM]
I still have not got into the writing mood. Tomorrow do nothing but writing.
[Sunset, SoCal, 1/22/2015]
WRITING: DECOMPOSITION
Decomposition is a lethal method in analysis. The idea is to break up the object in question into well-known elements through a logical process. It is a powerful tool for a wide range of problems.
Take programming for an example. For a beginner, the binary world of coding is daunting. Even picking a universal language is not an easy task: Java, C, C++, C#, Python, FORTRAN, all have their fans and haters. Then there are different programming paradigms (procedural or object-oriented), and specific applications (Mathematica and MAPLE for mathematicians, MATLAB for engineers, SAS and R for statisticians, EXCEL and VBA for business folks). The variety is mind-bogging.
But through the lens of decomposition, you can see they all share the same logical core, i.e., they all break down to two fundamental operations: IF condition and loop. All programs, be your WINDOWS OS or iPhone Apps, large or small, are all constructed with these two bricks.
The second example is how the analytical papers in economics and business are written. Like any other papers, they all tell a story. What set them apart—or give them an authoritative tone—is the use of math models. Here, again, decomposition is the key: all analytical models boil down to either optimization or game (equilibrium).
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Indeed, game thinking is so pervasive that people use it without knowing it consciously. Here is an urban legend.
People like to play with little Bill Harrison, a seemingly dumb kid. They offer him a penny and a nickel to choose and keep. Bill always picks penny, making everybody laugh. People love to play this game with him; never get tired .
One day, an old lady asks little Bill: “don’t you know a nickel worth more than a penny?”
“I know”, Bill smiles, “but if I pick the nickel, no one is going to play that game with me again.”
[Atlanta aquarium, June, 2006]
Day 103, 5pt, 12.29T:
jog: 3m;
learn: Luenberger, 5.4;
swim: 22r;
TYM: finish LN’s paper, positioning, 4h;
chat with T for an hour;
For Day 104,
TYM: writing only.
[TYM]
This project has been dragged on for too long. If it has little potential to make the top, then just get it done and move on. The opportunity cost is too high to delay.
Get it done in a week.
[T’s application]
T is struggling with accepting the job offer in LA or going for another interview in Michigan. LA offer (10K) is paid below the market, but Michigan is uncertain. It is a hard choice she must make and live with the consequence.
[Water world, Universal Studio, LA, summer, 2008]
A MAN OF ACTION 