Are the posted questions getting worse?

  • GSquared (1/25/2011)


    And that's almost certainly more than anyone here wants to know about this subject. :w00t:

    ... listens enraptured. "Not really, that's damnably interesting, actually."


    - Craig Farrell

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  • Craig Farrell (1/25/2011)


    GSquared (1/25/2011)


    And that's almost certainly more than anyone here wants to know about this subject. :w00t:

    ... listens enraptured. "Not really, that's damnably interesting, actually."

    Agreed. Keep on!

    To answer some of your questions:

    Is it warm out today? Don't know. It was cold when I got in. Haven't been out there since.

    Think it'll rain? Yes. Sooner or later.

    And my favorite (at least in Europe and when talking to people I met before): Q: How are you? A: And what would be your next question? (Never would answer that way in the U.S. though...)



    Lutz
    A pessimist is an optimist with experience.

    How to get fast answers to your question[/url]
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  • Any volunteers to read through a draft of an article for me ?

    Thanks....



    Clear Sky SQL
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  • LutzM (1/25/2011)


    Craig Farrell (1/25/2011)


    GSquared (1/25/2011)


    And that's almost certainly more than anyone here wants to know about this subject. :w00t:

    ... listens enraptured. "Not really, that's damnably interesting, actually."

    Agreed. Keep on!

    To answer some of your questions:

    Is it warm out today? Don't know. It was cold when I got in. Haven't been out there since.

    Think it'll rain? Yes. Sooner or later.

    And my favorite (at least in Europe and when talking to people I met before): Q: How are you? A: And what would be your next question? (Never would answer that way in the U.S. though...)

    Honestly, on that test, you don't care what the person's answer is. Not much, anyway. The important datum is the latency between when you ask it and when they start to answer. Keep in mind that the latency can be effectively infinite. "Is it warm out?" "You're late for the meeting." No answer to the question there. It's not just any response you want, it's a response to the question you asked. "I don't know" is a response. "I like your haircut" isn't. "Summertime afternoons usually are" is. "Who cares?" is a response (usually). "I don't like your attitude" is not. And so on.

    A person in a high emotional tone will respond faster than a person in a low one.

    Keep in mind that, if you don't have the person's attention when you ask, it's not a fair test. Also keep in mind that the question may cause a hesitation because of being non sequitur, if interjected inappropriately in a conversation, and that can also falsify the results.

    If you're not sure, reach towards the person when they aren't expecting it. Hand them something. Shake hands. Put a hand on their shoulder in a friendly fashion. Don't make it in any way threatening or objectively offensive. The speed and method which which they react tells you more than just any personality test you've ever seen or taken.

    Have you ever been in an argument with a lover/spouse and reached out towards them (not a strike or threat, just a reach), and had your hand slapped away or rejected or avoided? Ever reached towards that same person when you're both cheerful and had them take and hold it? Ever had them take the reached hand and turn it into a hug? Those are more visible examples of the same principle. You generally won't get a hug from a sales prospect, manager, or software project stakeholder. However, you might very well get a reach turned into a firm, energetic handshake or even more. You probably also won't get literally slapped away, but the effect will be the same. And so on for each emotional tone band.

    This can be modified by culture, which is why handing someone something can be a better alternative than offering a handshake, if handshakes aren't culturally appropriate. Business cards, a flyer, or a memo/plan, work for this usually.

    - Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
    Property of The Thread

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  • Dave Ballantyne (1/25/2011)


    Any volunteers to read through a draft of an article for me ?

    Thanks....

    Sure.

    - Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
    Property of The Thread

    "Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon

  • Dave Ballantyne (1/25/2011)


    Any volunteers to read through a draft of an article for me ?

    Thanks....

    Sure, if I can be of any help...



    Lutz
    A pessimist is an optimist with experience.

    How to get fast answers to your question[/url]
    How to post performance related questions[/url]
    Links for Tally Table [/url] , Cross Tabs [/url] and Dynamic Cross Tabs [/url], Delimited Split Function[/url]

  • GSquared (1/25/2011)


    ...

    A person in a high emotional tone will respond faster than a person in a low one.

    ...

    That's interesting!

    I'm actually known to reply almost instantly to such questions. Most of the time with an unexpected answer, none "out-of-the-box" and usually directly related to the question.

    I never thought it would be because of my emotional tone... Actually, people who know me are able to "detect" my emotional tone based on the answer itself, not based on the "latency time".

    I, in turn, use this kind of communication to verify I actually have their attention...



    Lutz
    A pessimist is an optimist with experience.

    How to get fast answers to your question[/url]
    How to post performance related questions[/url]
    Links for Tally Table [/url] , Cross Tabs [/url] and Dynamic Cross Tabs [/url], Delimited Split Function[/url]

  • LutzM (1/25/2011)


    GSquared (1/25/2011)


    ...

    A person in a high emotional tone will respond faster than a person in a low one.

    ...

    That's interesting!

    I'm actually known to reply almost instantly to such questions. Most of the time with an unexpected answer, none "out-of-the-box" and usually directly related to the question.

    I never thought it would be because of my emotional tone... Actually, people who know me are able to "detect" my emotional tone based on the answer itself, not based on the "latency time".

    I, in turn, use this kind of communication to verify I actually have their attention...

    That'll be the difference between baseline (chronic) tone, and situational (acute) tone. Speed measures chronic, answer can measure acute, but is less of a metric than a few other things.

    As for people detecting emotional tone based on the answer, that's also going to be because most people aren't trained in these techniques, so they have to rely on more visible measures.

    The problem with the usual visible/social measures is that people in certain tone bands, notably covert hostility, propitiation, and sometimes certain areas in the general apathy band, are often very, very good at pretending to be cheerful or otherwise higher toned than they actually are. It's a common thing for a deep apathy case to suddenly appear "cheerful" right before suiciding. Social measures, like the content or "tone" of the answer, won't penetrate that facade. Comm lag and reach reaction will, with almost mechanical reliability.

    As with most codifications of human behavior, any reasonably intelligent person (such as yourself) will hit upon pieces of these techniques just from being smart enough to benefit from trial and error and observation. So I'm not surprised you've got a piece of it (telling if you have their attention).

    The reach-reaction technique is simply a more advanced, better codified version of "you can tell a lot about a man by his handshake". Smart people have been working on insights into human behavior for a LONG time. But the difference between "...by his handshake" and what I'm talking about is comparable to the difference between "things fall" and the laws of thermodynamics and gravitation.

    Edit: Fixed a typo ("cover hostility" = "covert hostility")

    - Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
    Property of The Thread

    "Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon

  • Dave Ballantyne (1/25/2011)


    Any volunteers to read through a draft of an article for me ?

    Thanks....

    Sure.

    Wayne
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
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  • Coming to Melbourne (from South Africa) on Sunday for 2.5 weeks...business trip..

    Anything you can recommend I do/see while I am there?

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  • Never been there, but maybe have a look at http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/event_guide/event_guide.html?

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  • GSquared (1/25/2011)


    The reach-reaction technique is simply a more advanced, better codified version of "you can tell a lot about a man by his handshake". Smart people have been working on insights into human behavior for a LONG time. But the difference between "...by his handshake" and what I'm talking about is comparable to the difference between "things fall" and the laws of thermodynamics and gravitation.

    ...

    (lots of interesting stuff)

    ...

    We should never talk in real life, I'm afraid you'll read me like a book 🙂

    Need an answer? No, you need a question
    My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
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  • Dave Ballantyne (1/25/2011)


    Any volunteers to read through a draft of an article for me ?

    Thanks....

    If you think my contribution could help, send it my way.

    -- Gianluca Sartori

  • Dave Ballantyne (1/25/2011)


    Any volunteers to read through a draft of an article for me ?

    Thanks....

    Topic?

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

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  • GilaMonster (1/26/2011)


    Dave Ballantyne (1/25/2011)


    Any volunteers to read through a draft of an article for me ?

    Thanks....

    Topic?

    Loop unrolling - ie Cursor removal. Pretty high level stuff.



    Clear Sky SQL
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