That's great that you're still hacking away at it. Same here, I've applied about 4 or 5 times? I lost track. I've changed a lot, so has my project, but things have also stabilized as I learned how to push this forward. At this point, it's almost a ritual just to apply because it helps me think about what I've done and what I need to do next. This year I'm too busy to spend days on the application but hopefully all the prior practice helps. Regardless, it's ready to submit so I'll meet my quota for this year. :-) (As soon as the submit works but maybe it's just me.)
Anyone else having trouble submitting the application? I'm not sure if this is some kind of weird test but I doubt it. I can save, just not submit and it does the same thing in other browsers. Acts as if the submit/click handler isn't working.
These guys tout an unsinkable sailboat. Boat inside a boat with foam in between. Apparently you can punch a big hole in it, flood the inner compartment and it will still be able to sail. I suppose if you snap off the keel then it could go upside down, which isn't very good to you even if it floated. So really "unsinkable" means more than the ability to float.
It really depends on your goals and background I would say. At my school (education school) the point isn't to create students who can compete with computer science majors next door. Rather, we focus on getting students to 1) be able to understand the basics in order to communicate with more experienced developers and 2) quickly be able to create interactive visual programs for pilot research and the classroom. For us, the purpose is split between programming theory and folding in their learning and instructional theory into design. I used to teach Java which is great for focusing on OO concepts but the end products that students were able to create didn't necessarily match their visions. This discouraged a lot of students and turned them away from code. So sad!
Currently, we use Flash with a focus on OOP with ActionScript 3 (not timeline based loose junk). The advantage of this is that they can easily create rich assets in a simple and familiar environment to make the code part more genuine and purposeful for them. I've found that if you teach it this way they are very motivated to learn the programming concepts to realize their visions which are usually heavily tied to the visual and surface levels of a project. Gotta admit things you directly see are pretty sexy to many people. Once this "wow" moment is satisfied, it's much easier to point them in directions that go back to the programming theory to improve the depth of their work.
If you have a purpose and drive to want to accomplish something concrete you'll stick with the ups and downs so a programming language that supports that goal I think, is an appropriate language. It works well for us, the class is immensely popular and many of my students are very curious now of other languages like JavaScript, objective C, etc. The concepts transfer well too and some have even transitioned toward development. You can always learn new languages later although one commenter poses a good question of how one's starting language influences thinking. Don't have an answer for that one. But, my take is just try to get a good foundation with a language that supports what you want to do.
NOTE: I learned to program myself, and sought out specific programmers I admired to teach me so I don't have the experience of what a typical compsci program and curriculum is like. You might seek those opinions too. I would consider myself pretty darn good at understanding education and learning matters though so if you want any pointers, advice, or questions I'd be more than happy to discuss on this thread. I'm excited that you want to dive into programming. :-)
Prudent to be on the safe side but also difficult. When you live and breathe grad life, it's really hard to keep the projects separate from the thinking, collaborating, working that naturally comes from being in an environment full of bright, motivated, enthusiastic people.
And this is part of the dilemma right? Being in the school environment is clearly a priceless opportunity to find and work with great colleagues. Very important to find out if you'd make it with these people after you're bumped out of the safe harbor that is academia. So, waiting till graduation is a cost with its own potential risks and drawbacks.
I agree that we should be cautious and try to minimize the footprint we leave for the school to point out. But the hurdle to truly separate everything is quite high, and given the options it's probably going to end up a situation where you just have to do what you do in stealth mode to some extent. At least until Universities address this issue very explicitly and clearly.
It's great that this issue is being raised. Perhaps there needs to be more student advocacy to take this issue forward and work with Universities to articulate very clear guidelines of what is acceptable and not. Like you said, the old models don't reflect the nature of entrepreneurship today and the nebulous boundaries are keeping people from charging ahead on the things that matter most.
This is a good idea being that the concepts of startup thinking can probably transfer over. That said, it might be even better to use the badge acquisition as a stepping stone toward the real experience and have them do it like the article after, so they can understand how the different contexts affects their assumptions.
When I was in middle school all we had in terms of understanding "business" was an annual pushcart fair where most of the kids just chose to sell gobstoppers and we call it a day. This program seems to go more in depth in terms of giving these kids a genuine problem, having them think, communicate, and plan their actions, and most of all, putting their theories of business to the test with real world results they can use to assess their predictions of the world. These types of applicable real world activities WITH resulting data to challenge ones understanding is crucial. Probably why for us older kids with startup dreams, it's so important to just do something rather than just think/talk only about tech projects and ideas. The earlier one gets real projects out (first foray need not be perfect) and starts getting real user results the earlier we can test our assumptions and adapt, grow.
It's interesting to hear about these emerging hybrid niches. Clearly the idea of hybrid positions extends beyond just art and engineering. It can span across many different kinds of disciplines: content, instructional design, business, programming. Those that can cross between these different areas can really tie together the threads of communication and understanding across different parts of a project.
That said, I think it's also really crucial for every member to be a specialist in something. The most productive group dynamics I've been in have been the ones where each member clearly understands their role and can execute it with flourish. Most of the talented bright people I know are usually hybrids in some regard anyway but above all, they are outstanding in a specific way which the other team members recognize.
If I had to choose between 5 people each with their respective DEPTH of knowledge and ability vs. 5 hybrids with breadth, I'll take depth in a heartbeat. Although, it might be cool to have 1 hybrid with excellent communication skills and 4 specialists!
When we think about drones we talk a lot about military operations. Sometimes I hear stuff on rescue but the theme is usually "tasks dangerous for people." I thought it would be interesting to think 100 years in the future when drones permeate everyday life and are used for the routine and mundane also. What will drones be doing then? I'd like to hear some of HN's most clever, outrageous, imaginative, but mostly, entertaining ideas. :-)
I also think this is interesting. It seems like only yesterday that Al Jazeera was ridiculed by people as well as the industry in our neck of the woods around the time 911 happened and afterwards. Now that the stories are more aligned with our values they seem to be heroes at least amongst Internet circles. One take away perhaps is that people will consume what they want to hear. To navigate the complex world and gain a critical advantage is to understand that these outlets represent one perspective that to many people is very real, even if we personally don't agree. You could compare this in some ways to outlets like Fox News. I'm often skeptical about the reporting, but considering the number of people that do see this as their major meal of the day, I'm going to listen every now and then so I can try and understand where others stand and come from. News will always be inherently biased because people construct what is truth regarding their world. While we aren't directly involved in what comes out, we have the ability to process the stuff that comes in and make our own understanding.
Well, despite the best of planning emergencies happen. Sometimes these are the best moments to talk about and learn what it means to be proactive and preventative. The question is (and maybe you have an answer to this is) how do you measure and acknowledge good planning, foresight? Hindsight is easy because you have an outcome you can analyze. But foresight, what could have should have or didn't, that's hard to make concrete. I guess if there are other patterns happening in the world (ex. Emergencies) that you could compare to that is a good opportunity to explicitly show workers the contrast between reaction and initiative, and a good example to use in justifying acknowledgement if good planning and preventative measures happened. I feel like some management practice, strategy exists here somewhere. Please enlighten.
It's interesting. Currently we're thinking about the possible payment "paths" possible (that's a lot of p's) for our application/service. The current trend in major marketing hubs such as the app store and Fb claiming a big share of the payments makes me wonder how to quantify and compare the benefits to cost. I suppose since this is all still pretty emerging, time will tell how cross competition and future options might drive these rates down, or if it just becomes a given.
I'll have to check out some of these books personally but I'm curious if anyone has read the "The Dip: A little book that teaches you when to quit." I'm interested if someone can give a little more detail as to how the author explains and turns into a procedure, the process of understanding and the actions of when to quit.
Two quotes the site claims are, "If you can't be the best in your class, you should quit" and "Quitting does not make you a failure, you quit to avoid failure." It struck me as a little dangerous and possible that if this is the kind of understanding that results from the book, people might skip out too quickly - something that I see in education too often when persistence and effort could have done wonders. In my opinion, it is very important to know when to ADMIT failure (as opposed to avoid failure) and learn from it. Surely it's also good advice that at some points in our lives we should know when to cut our losses and move on to the next thing. Does this book do this in a deep and objective way?
There is a lot of evidence that people are pretty poor at assessing themselves. Second, the idea of failure avoidance is a common trait of people with fixed implicit theories of self and low effort-belief (traits correlated with lower performances, at least on tasks in the domain of education.) Third, people are really good at justifying their actions to preserve their self concepts. Ingredients that unless accounted for, seem like they could be dream killers with a slight push called "go ahead, quit."
Now, I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt that the actual book probably goes much more in depth as to when and how to make this sort of assessment but I thought I'd bring it up. Your thoughts?
It certainly makes for a difficult situation for students who split time between school and inventing. What would be the best way to go about finding out these boundaries? One could talk to the school lawyers of course but then you'd be on the radar. Anyone have some interesting stories regarding this issue and their own projects?
Like others are mentioning, I've always found it curious how difficult it is for people outside of academia to access good journals and articles. It's even more puzzling because in academia we're always trying to shout to the world that this knowledge ought to be utilized. That said, I think some fields have a much better relationship with industry than others. In my field of education, it's a rather big problem disseminating findings to the front line. As for tips, I've found that a good way to stay on top of knowledge broadly is to read edited handbooks and reviews. These sources might not be the newest but they certainly condense a lot of good empirical findings that have been tested over time and highlight the most important branches and directions. It's also kind of interesting to find who the grad students of the most prominent figures are and read their papers, proceedings. A) They're dying to talk about their stuff, B) They have the guidance of an experienced scholar, and C) They have that energy to drive into quite interesting and new territory.
In my experience good people are the hardest investment to come by. By investment I mean long term. Qualitatively, I mean how open and capable a person is not only to his craft, but to changing to the demanding forces of a startup, growing as an individual and as part of the corporate culture. It sounds as though what this candidate lacks in experience, he makes up with his professional skills so it seems promising.
Is there any way you can have your cake and eat it too? For example, depending on what the circumstances of his two months are (student?) maybe you can start having him come in on a more relaxed schedule so he can get his sea legs. During that time, spend the money to outsource some of the work via contract to established individuals but have the new recruit play a role in this transition so in two months, he is already off to a running start, has clarity, and can focus on his priorities.
I find when you give people opportunities and are supportive of their needs, they will amaze you.
This is an interesting scenario and I'd also like to know what other HNers think.
Two types of people: those who are willing to cross that line, and those who are brave enough to call the exception and dive into the moral greyzone when the need calls for it.
I have trouble with the statement of this article. I'm not perfect. Through my experience, I've had times when I've blundered into that gray-zone, I've had times when I declined to cross that line. In the end, I think I've been pretty successful in my endeavors but the more experience I have the more I realize how many different paths there are to reach an end. And in hindsight, I'm most proud of getting things done by putting in that extra effort to think of a way to achieve something without undermining integrity. We're human so I think we've all had this experience but I think I'm mature enough now to have the patience and understanding that solid values coupled with work ethic can trump a lot more problems than a lot of people think.
That said, I can understand the author's argument if what he means is that moral gray-zone of not right vs. wrong, but right vs. right decisions. Now that is a tough one. :-)