Even with the Presidential elections behind us, Al Gore Rhythms continue to surface at my house.
My husband, Frank, overtly uses algorithms. Algorithms are technically a set of rules that are used to solve a problem. Frank uses algorithms when he writes computer programs. He will define his starting and finishing points then he will work through a method to get there. He may have to consider multiple possible pathways to get from beginning to end. Frank calls each step conditional decision making…If the answer is this, then the next step is that.
I shy away from algorithms because they sound so mathematical, but Frank frequently points out to me that we all use algorithmic thinking in every day life. For example, if your gas gauge on your car indicates that you are low on gas, then you begin to make plans to fill up the tank. You would then decide how much longer you are willing to drive before you must stop to get gas. In the meantime, if you pass by a gas station on the right-hand side of the road you might stop earlier. But, you would bypass that station if the price is too high or you couldn’t use your credit card at the pump.
We can’t all be mathematicians or computer programmers, but anyone can practice using algorithms. Here is my story about how I’m doing with logical thought.
It was a middle-of-the-week night and I was tired. I lay still on my left side with my left hand stuffed under my pillow and my head nestled on top. With my eyes closed I made a conscious effort to relax my eyelids, my shoulders, my legs and my toes. I was rewarded with physical peacefulness, but as I lapsed into physical calm my mind raced out of control. Shoes trampled my brain. I had rapid thought movements about old shoes, new shoes, comfortable shoes, attractive shoes and consternation about which shoes to wear to work the next day.
Unable to sleep in my footwear torment, I finally cracked open my right eyelid to see if my husband, Frank, was still awake. Through my monocular squint I could see that he was not only awake, but staring off into the bedroom darkness. “He can’t sleep either,” I thought. “Perhaps he is sole searching, too.”
I raised up on my left elbow and commiserated, “You aren’t sleeping either. What are you thinking about?”
“Queries,” he said.
“What queries?” I queried back.
“You know that lab program I’ve been working on. It takes the lab data from the clinic Beckman analyzer and creates the database for the labs on our Healthcare Network. Well, now I’m working on custom profiles, so that all the physicians at the clinic and some of the other staff can query the database to get specific groups of labs. For instance, you might want the Dugan profile with a report all of the dialysis patients in our unit who have a calcium of greater than 10.5 and a phosphorus of greater than 6. In my mind I’m working through the computer programs that let individuals query the database for multiple variables simultaneously.”
He paused for a moment completing his own thought about the project, then looked over my way through the darkness. “I thought you were sleeping,” he said.
“Well, no,” I replied flopping back onto my pillow, struggling to put my own random footwear thoughts into order. “Actually, I was doing some systems modeling. You know tomorrow I am on hospital rounds, so I will have to wear my beeper all day. In order to wear my beeper on my waist I’ll need to wear a pair of slacks. My slacks options depend entirely on my shoe choice. The shoe decision point is tough for me because I have just bought a new pair of shoes that I prefer, but I am likely to end up with sore feet if I wear them all day since they are new. I don’t really want to wear my old blue suede hushpuppies because the strings won’t stay tied and the arches have flattened which will leave me with tired feet at the end of the day. I have just resolved to wear my new comfortable shoes with trouser socks, then I can wear my short sleeved waffle knit LL Bean shirt with my navy relaxed-fit Lee slacks, my belt with the silver buckle and my cultured pearl earrings with the silver rim.”
I sighed with satisfaction at the completeness of my plan. I looked over at Frank to find him smiling sweetly back at me. I have learned everything I know about logical thought from him and he knows it.
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