Why do GPA and ACT scores matter?
Recently, there’s been some pushback against standardized tests and college entrance exams. It begs the question: What is all this testing good for? After all, well-to-do families and students can spend more time preparing for these exams, making them an unfair indicator of wealth moreso than IQ.
I propose: They are not a measure of ability but of rule-following, self-regulation, and preparadness. If this is true, the fact that you can study for these tests isn’t a bug, but a feature. If we were measuring IQ or “raw” ability for some kind of meritocratic system, we’d want a test you could not study for.
view full postI’ve been tracking my OKR’s since 2014. Sometimes I accomplish what I set out for, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I accomplish what I put in OKRs but didn’t accomplish what I wanted.
Here’s what I’ve learned.
- There are usually four types of OKRs, and not differentiating types makes it really hard to get what you wanted
- Not only are there four, but they are roughly speaking prerequisites of each other.
- Not only that, but looking at all the self-help books I’ve read, it actually seems like most the books also fit into these four categories, and just reading them out of order makes no sense.
These categories are:
view full postOn the optimality of sawtooth careers
I was having lunch at JPL with their Chief Engineer, Rob Manning. Normally, you’d expect the Chief Eng. to reserve their time for more important people, but that’s not how JPL works.
I had posted in the New Researcher Support Group slack channel, asking for stories from folks who regret some part of their career. Gloomy, I know. He was curious, and so we we got lunch.
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