Expert Beginner a.k.a "Sophomore" or the "wise fool"

Erik Dietrich has an excellent write-up of what he calls the "Expert Beginner."  As you read it, I'm sure you'll recognize the situation in a current or former organization. In the broadest terms, the academic phrase "sophomore" is well suited.

You can find it here: How Developers Stop Learning: Rise of the Expert Beginner

Another interesting post:  How to hire a senior developer

Using the definition provided by Wikipedia, would get:

The term is derived from Greek σόφισμα (sophisma), 'acquired skill, clever device, method', altered to resemble a compound of the Greek words σοφός (sophos), 'wise' and μωρός (moros), 'foolish, dull'.

reference:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophomore

AI and the demise of the DBA

Are DBA's soon to be the way of the buggy whip?

I've long held that the need for a full time DBA to tune a database was past its prime. In an age where database vendors like Microsoft hire brilliant database theorists, it makes far more sense for them to work out the algorithms to manage the database than having a full-time database mechanic (DBA) on staff to monitor and adjust the system.

With the release of SQL Server 2017, a new feature, called Automatic Tuning (SQL Server 2017) has been introduced.

While SQL Server has made progress in this area, the open source world has made advances as well. OtterTune has made some initial advances tuning and optimizing two open source database flatforms:  MySQL and Postgres.

Here are key links to learn more:

AI topics - OtterTune

A detailed look into OtterTune by Adrian Colyer

Research Paper - Automatic Database Management System Tuning Through Large-scale Machine Learning

Forecast vs. Predict - what's the difference?

We get ask this frequently.

Fortunately, the team at PowerPivotPro has provided a nice write-up. So, rather than re-create the wheel, here it is:

The Difference Between Forecasting & Predictive Analytics