About a month ago in a blog, I introduced what I described as a “spectral attenuation monitor.”  At the time I only had an image from MS Works that…

Six Sigma is a quantitative approach to problem solving - to solve certain types of problems. At the root of Six Sigma is an improvement methodology that can be described by the acronym DMAIC: define, measure, analyze, improve, and control [1]. Those interested in reading up on Six Sigma might consider the book for dummies, which I found fairly succinct. Those wondering what I mean by "certain types of problems" should consider how to apply the approach to their own business circumstances. I…

In this blog, I will be considering theory developments from changes in methodology. But first I want to express an opinion on the significance of using numbers. A "number" represents an amplitude or magnitude: 5 pencils; 13 paperclips; 50 sheets of paper. The purpose of these numbers is to facilitate the counting of things that are presumably the same in a specific way: e.g. all 5 pencils are in fact pencils - for if 1 were an eraser, there would be 4 pencils and 1 eraser. The use of…

I sometimes ask myself while musing over the need for a particular service, "I wonder if this is commercially viable?" If the service is routine and the required software is rather inexpensive, perhaps there is little need for a company to outsource. I cannot think of any company that would routinely outsource work normally performed on a spreadsheet. I suspect that decades ago some companies hired specialists to handle spreadsheets; this seems much less likely today in light of the…

I recall the first time I encountered the idea of "asset allocation" many years ago. As the argument goes, the perfect allocation of assets should lead to the greatest return possible in light of one's risk tolerance. Perhaps thousands of years ago, although I haven't studied this in any detail, somebody had the idea that dancing in just the right way might satisfy the spirits enough to cause it to rain. There is the similar notion of delivering the perfect incantation to invoke supernatural…

I have never been formally trained on how to deal with seasonality. But I wanted to take a moment to share my perspective based on experience, which I hope readers will find fairly straightforward. Some people use sales revenues in order to evaluate seasonal differences. I find it more desirable to analyze units sold if possible. A price increase resulting in slightly higher revenues does not in itself represent increased demand. Nor should discounted prices leading to reduced revenues…

Before elaborating on my fruitless existence - about my decision to avoid fruit - I want to emphasize how this blog is actually about something that I call the "Fallacy of Rational Prerequisite." There will be some misunderstanding about this term even after my prolonged explanation. I just want to state plainly at the outset that I am not proposing that people become irrational. If they are already so, I am not suggesting that they further the situation.…

A few semesters into my undergraduate studies, I decided to move away from campus in order to escape the incessant party atmosphere. I chose to rent an old but roomy apartment in Kitchener, Ontario. I read somewhere that this city was formerly called New Munich. One day in the dead of morning, I heard loud banging and smashing downstairs. It seemed that neither I nor my cat could sleep, so I went to investigate. I saw the owner of the building at the front entrance of the apartment holding a…