Non-practice

I like the Secretary problem:

The basic form of the problem is the following: imagine an administrator who wants to hire the best secretary out of n rankable applicants for a position. The applicants are interviewed one by one in random order. A decision about each particular applicant is to be made immediately after the interview. Once rejected, an applicant cannot be recalled. During the interview, the administrator gains information sufficient to rank the applicant among all applicants interviewed so far, but is unaware of the quality of yet unseen applicants. The question is about the optimal strategy (stopping rule) to maximize the probability of selecting the best applicant.

Have a look at these articles for details:

• Secretary problem – Wikipedia
• Math-Based Decision Making: The Secretary Problem | by Lorenzo Duso | Cantor’s Paradise
• Secretary Problem (A Optimal Stopping Problem) – GeeksforGeeks
• The Secretary Problem

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Let’s say you have to maximize your chances when betting for an endgame result at a match between two teams.

You should generally bet 1-0, if a team is slightly better than the other. 2-0 for a clear advantage. Rarely 3-0, just for when there’s a huge difference of value. You should only bet equal (0-0; rarer – 1-1) when the odds are rather equal.

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⁴³ “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” (Matthew 12:43-46 NIV)

The devil learns from its mistakes, becomes better.

A fallen angel? Yes, but still interested in winning and becoming better. Seven times better.

Got to notice its perseverance.

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I liked the dialogue between Alex Michaelides and Nadine Vlădescu (Litera Anniversary Days, 2021 edition).

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“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” ― Helen Keller, The Open Door

I like to eat healthily, I tend to work when needed, I try and sleep a lot (on purpose).

About being a maniac: that’s how I am, that’s my nature, for better or worse, in passion and success.

I’m not proud of it, I try to control it, but, yes, I’m a bit of a nerd/maniac.

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Sometimes, during a presentation (for example, a PowerPoint slideshow), the presenter wants to state: “OK, this is a self-promotion”.

The thing is, as far as I can tell, most presentations try and sell you something.

It might be something obvious (“We talk about the product, you’ll get the hint to buy it, even if it’s not explicit”), but even in the cases where’s no explicit sale, there is generally something being sold – the image of the presenter posing an expert.

If a person is on a stage and speaks to you about matter X, you’ll likely consider that person a professional/expert, and you’re more likely to buy their services.

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The prisoner’s dilemma is a standard example of a game analyzed in game theory that shows why two completely rational individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interests to do so. (Prisoner’s dilemma – Wikipedia)

And, also, have a look at this article (it’s a tough reading): A fragment on courage and stupidity which I like a lot. It’s all about freedom – Blog de Olivian Breda.

I think you can only be free when you don’t take into account the risks you’re put into, and act for the greater good.

To me, the prisoner’s dilemma really exists due to the fact that we, as a species, are weak – we need a state of comfort of the mind.

Had we been free, it would have been easier.

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Some powerful people put boundaries.

Think of people like: Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino.

These are some great people.

But do they set limits? As far as I can tell, they do.

You need power to be soft and kind and care about the other.

You also need power to be able to say “No, we won’t cross this line.”.

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I got a (what I think to be) cool idea from Nassim Nicholas Taleb: make some small mistakes when you can do so without lots of damage.

So, if you don’t go to the restaurant and make mistakes when you are young, when you grow up you can make a fool of yourself in an important situation.

If you don’t travel, you don’t expose yourself, this gets harder later in life.

I got into a situation like this right this year when I had to order a Taxi in Constanța.

I wasn’t used to it, I didn’t have any numbers on my cell phone, it took around 10 minutes to call various companies (I had no idea which to pick).

Finally, a pirate cab stopped and offered me a poor deal, which I took, being pressured by time.

Things might have gone better had I been used to ordering a cab when the pressure was lower, and now I would have gone in repeat mode.

The conclusion? Make errors when you’re young, it will be easier to avoid errors when you get older.

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