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> A fact of life: Nearly always people with money, power, and optimization problems don't understand optimization, fear and resent those who do, and choose just
by frutiger 2y ago
> A fact of life: Nearly always people with money, power, and optimization problems don't understand optimization, fear and resent those who do, and choose just to avoid the subject.
Worth considering this hard question: who optimized their life better? Them or us?
- graycat 2y agoYup. Applied Optimization 101: For decisions in life and career, avoid the applied math approach to optimization. In particular, except maybe for some work in US national security, don't try to have the applied math of applied optimization for a career. Don't spend a lot of time studying optimization. Later might be able to be the founder, COB, CEO of a startup where some math is a big advantage.
- chipdart 2y ago> Yup. Applied Optimization 101: For decisions in life and career, avoid the applied math approach to optimization. It pains me to say this, but might it ever crossed your mind that the problem does not lie in applied mathematics of even optimization? We need soft skills to push the output from hard skills, and interacting with decision-makers requires people skills, not hard skills. If you can't communicate with someone, it doesn't really matter what the numbers say. Do you get what I mean?
- graycat 2y agoFine. But I'm still not finding the private planes, yachts, mansions, or even houses with wife and children of people with careers in "applied" optimization. Computing, startups, venture capital, lots of careers. "Applied" optimization? In the years after my Ph.D., I didn't hear of them. As I was teaching optimization in a business school, the phone didn't ring. The phone did ring for some statistics, one from a company with sales districts and one from a law firm.