Universal Rule

Book Reviews

Monday, April 7, 2003

Bioinformatics for Dummies -- Comment()
The book Bioinformatics for Dummies (by Claverie and Notredame) is a good introduction to bioinformatics for beginners. You do need some background in biochemistry and biology, and preferably some lab experience.

The book offers a lot of insight also for a mathematician (or a computer scientist), because the descriptions are arranged by topic, and most examples are complemented with short but clear explanations of the relevant biological applications of the method.

I did catch a few typos, and some computer details may be not absolutely true any more. In some places the phrase "very easy" was used too often, but this is forgivable. This book is a good read, and there is plenty of humor to keep you motivated.

-- Comment()
Trial run points to Noam Chomsky on Iraq war: "This [war] should be seen as a trial run. Iraq is seen as an extremely easy and totally defenceless target. It is assumed, probably correctly, that the society will collapse, that the soldiers will go in and that the U.S. will be in control, and will establish the regime of its choice and military bases. They will then go on to the harder cases that will follow. The next case could be the Andean region, it could be Iran, it could be others. [...] The doctrine of preventive war is totally different; it holds that the United States - alone, since nobody else has this right - has the right to attack any country that it claims to be a potential challenge to it. So if the United States claims, on whatever grounds, that someone may sometime threaten it, then it can attack them." [via Heli's Heaven and Hell Radio > The Aardvark Speaks]

More about efficiency in the workplace -- Comment()
The posting Efficiency in the workplace was commented as follows: "What magazine? Since so many people in the circles I travel in confuse efficiency, effectiveness, and utilization, I'd be interested in your piece."

I'm a columnist for the Finnish professional IT magazine MikroPC, which has about 253,000 readers. So, the piece is in Finnish.

The keywords "efficiency, effectiveness, and utilization" are related to the ideas of the text. The central idea is based on a recent book about the home life of professionals in Finland. This book is a bit depressing to read. So, my column is based on the idea of applying the efficiency criteria of the workplace to the home and personal life. I hope this generates some discussion about the current way of living, at home, or at work.