AI Can Improve Healthcare

Posted on February 8, 2021 by way0utwest

It’s early days, but I found this article to be very interesting. In this case, an AI model was trained to use some patient feedback on knee pain, as opposed to a previous methodology. The old methodology did work, but it had some problems with some populations.

I haven’t thought that much of our ML/AI (machine learning/artificial intelligence) work is particularly smart. The algorithms learn well and they can match or out-perform humans, but these systems are really mimicking what humans do. They can be more reliably and definitely more scalable, but it’s doing what we humans do, not often leaping ahead.

Often we train these models based on previous data and results from human experts. However, often what we think of as expert advice, what many people accept, is flawed in and of itself. Humans often work with a small set of data and experiences. They find patterns and create a solution that works, but not always as well as we’d like. Especially as the solution is applied to a wider variety of situations.

In this case, researchers looked at alternative methodologies, and used AI/ML to test whether a different solution might be better. This isn’t going to replace the current methodology for now, but it might get more doctors and researchers to rethink how they approach this particular issue.

This might be one area where AI/ML truly help humans move forward. By looking for gaps, oversights, and other problems in our existing methods, the computer might spur humans to make new leaps that help us drive forward.

Steve Jones

Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Stitcher, Spotify, or iTunes.

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Daily Coping 8 Feb 2021

Posted on February 8, 2021 by way0utwest

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag. 

Today’s tip is to ask a friend how they have been feeling lately.

The last couple weeks have been crazy, both at work and in my personal life. I’ve heard from quite a few people about the events at Redgate. It’s been hectic and overwhelming at times.

However, I also know there are some people that I haven’t contacted in some time. I know a friend had a rough Q4 last year, and I hadn’t heard from them, so I decided to reach out and just wish them well. This turned into a short, but nice conversation about how we each were coping with current things.

Worth the effort on my part.

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Hardware: Check the Drivers First

Posted on February 5, 2021 by way0utwest

This isn’t a database post, instead, I’m going to talk about my laptop.

I got an HP Spectre x360 a couple years ago and was using it for work and presentations while traveling. Everything was fine, and then the COVID-19 pandemic shut down travel. I rarely used it across the last year, mostly working on my desktop, or using another laptop I have around. I didn’t sit idle for a year, but I might have used it every 2-3 months for a few hours.

I know I have updated some software, including Windows in the last year, but a  few weeks ago I picked up the laptop and took it with me on a trip to work. I opened it to get something done and the screen kept flickering, sometimes going dark. I rebooted, and it seemed to do better.

I used it a few more times across the last few weeks and each time the flicking got worse. It was essentially unusable, and I assumed that the hardware hinge between the keyboard and screen was damaged somehow and causing flickering. I started to go down the support process for repair, but then stopped.

I’m not sure why, but I searched for “hp spectre screen flickering”. Google auto completed the last word, so I suspected that this was a known issue. I still assumed hardware, but I clicked and read a few posts, like this one.

The medium answer (we’re past short here) is that the driver for this laptop from HP causes flickering. It acted like a poor connection, but when I downloaded the drivers from Intel and installed them, the flickering stopped.

Crazy.

It always pays to do a little research and ask some questions before assuming you know what’s wrong. In this case, I found a solution I never would have thought of: using the generic chip drivers instead of the manufacturer.

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Tough Interview Questions

Posted on February 5, 2021 by way0utwest

Many of us know that interviewing someone and evaluating their skills is a tough job. There have been all sorts of techniques tried by various companies, some of which require creativity, but many are related to technology and practical skills. All in all, I’m not sure any of these really predict if someone will be a valuable employee.

I’ve seen a lot of senior technology people lament the quality of the candidates they interview. I suspect some of this is that most of the really talented people aren’t out there interviewing regularly. Instead, there are many people applying for jobs, some with narrow sets of experience that might not match what you are looking for. Some may be applying for jobs that are beyond their skills, hoping to get through an interview and get an offer. Maybe others rub the interviewer the wrong way, and create a negative impression that doesn’t represent how the person might work with others.

I ran across an article that listed a number of SQL Server interview questions, most of which are aimed at experienced developers. It’s not a long list, but it does cover some topics that aren’t necessarily things that you use often in SQL Server. While I have written an INSTEAD OF trigger, I haven’t often and might not give a great answer for someone that is looking for deep knowledge. I would like to think I can give a decent explanation of what this is and where you might use it.

Perhaps that’s the intent, however, to see if an experienced person has touched a lot of different features in SQL Server. Maybe this is a breadth more than a depth list? I’m curious if you think that is the case. Maybe you have an opinion you’d like to share on these, or other questions, which might help you determine the experience of a candidate.

Finding a great candidate for your organization is hard. It doesn’t matter if you are looking for junior people that can grow, or senior ones to lead. Often interviews result in an impression that is a bit of a coin flip. After a year ,you may or may not feel that you made the right decision.

Steve Jones

Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Stitcher, Spotify, or iTunes.

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