4 ms·

I disagree with this one: I've learned that Winston Churchill was right when he said, "You can always count on Americans to do the right thing -- after they've

I disagree with this one: I've learned that Winston Churchill was right when he said, "You can always count on Americans to do the right thing -- after they've tried everything else." Congress is a basket case 99% of the time, but when things are truly at the precipice it gets things done. The "right" thing is pretty subjective, and I would argue that if we were doing the "right" things, we could have avoided a partial government shutdown last year as Congress struggled through the debt issue. Speaks to the author's comment about short-term thinking: I've learned that short-term thinking is at the root of most of our problems, whether it's in business, politics, investing, or work. It's not a good sign that we are allowing ourselves to reach moments of crisis in which we are forced to make the "right" decision. What if that decision comes down to defaulting on our debt and wronging the rest of the world?

d0mine 12y ago
> I've learned that short-term thinking is at the root of most of our problems Greedy (aka "short-term thinking") algorithms provide optimal solutions for many (but not all (obviously)) problems.
- pbhjpbhj 12y ago
  It sounds like you've missed the point - yes the optimal solution short term might be one action, but sometimes losing in the short term is more optimal in the long term. Like say, a vote for socialism reduces a companies profits but retains the humanity of government in the long term (made up example obv.). Moreover, long term solutions encompass the solution space of short term ones - so if short term thinking is required then you can choose the short-term thinking solution that optimises for the long view outcome.
  - d0mine 12y ago
    Perhaps the reference to computer science was not very clear in my previous comment [1]. "Optimal solution" means the best possible (globally) over all possible dimensions including time. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greedy_algorithm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greedy_algorithm The point being is that even a short-term thinking may yield long-term benefits sometimes.
antidaily 12y ago
"Truly at the precipice" is subjective there.
dantheman 12y ago
The government shutdown had nothing to do with defaulting on the US debt. That debt isn't a huge portion of the budget, it has to do with reigning in spending - the cause of the debt.

d0mine 12y ago

> I've learned that short-term thinking is at the root of most of our problems Greedy (aka "short-term thinking") algorithms provide optimal solutions for many (but not all (obviously)) problems.

pbhjpbhj 12y ago
It sounds like you've missed the point - yes the optimal solution short term might be one action, but sometimes losing in the short term is more optimal in the long term. Like say, a vote for socialism reduces a companies profits but retains the humanity of government in the long term (made up example obv.). Moreover, long term solutions encompass the solution space of short term ones - so if short term thinking is required then you can choose the short-term thinking solution that optimises for the long view outcome.
- d0mine 12y ago
  Perhaps the reference to computer science was not very clear in my previous comment [1]. "Optimal solution" means the best possible (globally) over all possible dimensions including time. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greedy_algorithm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greedy_algorithm The point being is that even a short-term thinking may yield long-term benefits sometimes.

antidaily 12y ago

"Truly at the precipice" is subjective there.

dantheman 12y ago

The government shutdown had nothing to do with defaulting on the US debt. That debt isn't a huge portion of the budget, it has to do with reigning in spending - the cause of the debt.