Taivo Lints Blog - Comments

My PhD Thesis Overview: Adaptivity. Your Suggestions Very Welcome!!! - Taivo Lints

Taivo Lints — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 01:41:53 +0300

@Tali: Hmm... difficult to sum up yet. Well, from the definition side, I have started to understand that there are a few main somewhat distinct perspectives at what adaptation as such is (one stemming from evolution theory, one from cybernetics, one being the general common everyday usage, and one the usage in psychology and related fields) and I have developed my own working definition (subject to further improvements, of course): "adaptation as a process is apparently about changing something (itself, others, the environment) so that it would be more suitable or fit for some purpose than it would have otherwise been" and I consider it (inspired by Lotfi A. Zadeh) to be a relative concept that requires further specification of frames of reference: behaving adaptively with regard to which (possibly implicit) goal(s), in which environments, within which time frames, and so on (i.e., just saying that something is adaptive, without further explanations, doesn't really give very much information, except maybe when the frames of reference are obvious).

@Sarah: Thanks! And I wish I'd be spending more of my time on actually working on it and other important projects :) (sighs and goes grabs the Focus book from the bookshelf again)

My PhD Thesis Overview: Adaptivity. Your Suggestions Very Welcome!!! - Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:43:17 +0300

I should know better than to ask that question really, but it sounds quite positive including things you've said elsewhere. Things that are worth doing take time. I wish you all the best with the writing up!

My PhD Thesis Overview: Adaptivity. Your Suggestions Very Welcome!!! - Tali

Tali — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 23:05:57 +0300

How would you sum up how your ideas and understanding of adaptation have change since you started this journey?

Book: The Difference by Scott E. Page - Taivo Lints

Taivo Lints — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:31:55 +0300

Yep, sense it does make :) I already put "The Trouble with Physics" to my to-read list when you mentioned it in some earlier FB comments. Though, there seems to be a lot of criticism about the string theory part of that book... (from string theorists, of course :).

My PhD Thesis Overview: Adaptivity. Your Suggestions Very Welcome!!! - Taivo Lints

Taivo Lints — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:22:48 +0300

Well, I kind of start understanding what the word "adaptation" means :) And am in the process of understanding the underlying properties and processes that support it. The plan is to get the draft of the thesis writeup ready this year.

My PhD Thesis Overview: Adaptivity. Your Suggestions Very Welcome!!! - Sarah

Sarah — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 00:59:17 +0300

And how is it going now? :)

Book: The Difference by Scott E. Page - Sarah

Sarah — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 00:26:10 +0300

This reminded me of "The Trouble With Physics" by Lee Smolin. He reckons that the trouble with physics is that there's too much cult-like conformity to certain theories and not enough diversity of ideas; scientists should only come to consensus on things when forced by the evidence, and until that happens, having lots of different approaches and ideas being worked on should be more constructive. It makes sense!

Book: Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them - Taivo Lints

Taivo Lints — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:11:31 +0300

Hehe, thanks, Tricia! Actually my birthday is in November :) It's just that getting the book was delayed a few months due to logistical reasons, then it took me a few months to find/take the time to read the book, and then a few more months to take the time and write the blog post :)

Book: Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them - Tricia Lichtenstein

Tricia Lichtenstein — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:11:57 +0300

Happy Belated Birthday, Taivo! (I'm guessing belated, unless your friend gave you your present early.) I hope you had lots of fun and lots of delicious cake!

Book: Resilience Engineering - Philippine Call Center

Philippine Call Center — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:59:54 +0200

Thank you for this well written article. We know that there are many strategies to be used in business, but as you said that resilience is very important so that it won't collapse in time. Thank you for sharing this.

Book: Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb - David

David — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:58:55 +0200

Hi Taivo, you have convinced me, I am getting this book!

Book: Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb - Taivo Lints

Taivo Lints — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 01:53:47 +0200

A fun pic related to the book :)

http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=128320

Book: Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb - Taivo Lints

Taivo Lints — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:24:27 +0300

Thanks! Actually I think the review is a little bit too long, but I couldn't make it much shorter without throwing out important content...

Book: Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb - David

David — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 05:15:39 +0300

Great review Taivo!

Book: Read Japanese Today - Taivo Lints

Taivo Lints — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:24:22 +0300

Hehe, well, I'm doing many diverse things, you know :D Actually I bought this book from St. John's College bookshop in 2004, if I remember correctly. Recently the Japanese-learning has been on hold, but yes, I plan to learn a bit more at some point.

Book: Read Japanese Today - David

David — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:36:49 +0300

So now you are learning japanese?!?

Book: Dynamic Patterns by Scott Kelso - Taivo Lints

Taivo Lints — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 01:22:14 +0300

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll take a closer look at it if I happen to see it somewhere (I currently don't feel like ordering it right away :).

As much as I understand from the reviews and the (somewhat obscure :) website http://www.thecomplementarynature.c... , the book first discusses how the interpretations of oppositions / contraries have affected philosophy and science, and then goes on to apply Kelso & Co.'s nonlinear dynamics models to show how opposing tendencies may coexist at the same time and that the brain is likely to work that way...

Book: Dynamic Patterns by Scott Kelso - Richard

Richard — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 07:34:19 +0300

you might want to have a look at his most recent book, that I liked better: The Complementary Nature written with David Angstron

http://www.amazon.com/Complementary...