Logical Fallacies - Addressing actual issue

 

Here is an explanation of two common logical fallacies: the Straw Man fallacy and the Ad Hominem fallacy. Both occur during arguments when someone attacks an opponent's position unfairly instead of addressing the actual issue.

1. Straw Man Fallacy

What it is

A straw man fallacy happens when someone distorts, exaggerates, or oversimplifies an opponent's argument to make it much easier to attack. Instead of dealing with the actual point being made, the arguer defeats a fake, "straw-man" version of the argument and claims victory.

Example

• Person A: "We should put more money into funding public transit systems to reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions."
  
  
• Person B (Straw Man): "So you want to completely ban all cars and force everyone to ride bicycles in the freezing rain? That's ridiculous."
  
  
• Why it's a fallacy: Person A never said cars should be banned or that everyone must bike. Person B exaggerated the argument to make it absurd and easy to knock down.
  
  

2. Ad Hominem Fallacy

What it is

Ad hominem is Latin for "against the man." This fallacy occurs when someone attacks the character, motive, or personal traits of the person making an argument, rather than addressing the substance of the argument itself.

Example

• Person A: "This new corporate tax policy will disproportionately harm small businesses."
  
  
• Person B: "You only say that because you own a small business and don't want to pay your fair share of taxes."
  
  
• Why it's a fallacy: Person B attacks Person A’s self-interest instead of proving whether the tax policy actually harms small businesses or not. The truth of the argument is independent of who is saying it.
  
  

Summary Comparison

Fallacy	Core Strategy	What to Look For
Straw Man	Distorting the argument	Exaggerating or misrepresenting what the other person said.
Ad Hominem	Attacking the person	Insults, questioning motives, or pointing out hypocrisy instead of facts.

Would you like to see how to effectively respond or counter either of these fallacies in a discussion?

 

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Here is how you can effectively respond to and counter both fallacies, using the exact examples from earlier.

1. How to Counter the Straw Man Fallacy

The Original Setup

• Person A: "We should put more money into funding public transit systems to reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions."
  
  
• Person B (Straw Man): "So you want to completely ban all cars and force everyone to ride bicycles in the freezing rain? That's ridiculous."
  
  

How to Respond

When someone builds a straw man, your goal is to call out the distortion immediately, clarify your actual position, and steer the conversation back to reality.

• Step 1: Point out the exaggeration. ("That is not what I said.")
  
  
• Step 2: Restate your real argument. ("I am proposing better transit options, not banning cars.")
  
  
• Step 3: Re-engage with the core topic.
  
  

Example Response:

"That’s a misrepresentation of my point. I never said anything about banning cars or forcing people to bike. I am simply suggesting we improve public transit so people have a choice. Now, do you think funding transit would help reduce traffic congestion?"

2. How to Counter the Ad Hominem Fallacy

The Original Setup

• Person A: "This new corporate tax policy will disproportionately harm small businesses."
  
  
• Person B (Ad Hominem): "You only say that because you own a small business and don't want to pay your fair share of taxes."
  
  

How to Respond

When someone attacks you personally, your goal is to refuse to take the bait, pivot away from your motives, and force them to address the actual facts or data.

• Step 1: Acknowledge (or brush past) the personal attack. (You don't need to get defensive about who you are.)
  
  
• Step 2: Separate the person from the argument. (Remind them that facts are true or false regardless of who says them.)
  
  
• Step 3: Demand evidence.
  
  

Example Response:

"My personal background doesn't change the facts. Whether I own a business or not, the data on how this tax impacts small businesses still stands. Do you have any evidence showing that this policy won't hurt small businesses?"

Key Takeaway

Defending against these fallacies is all about boundary-setting. Don't let your opponent change the subject to a fake argument (Straw Man) or a fake version of you (Ad Hominem)—gently force them back to the evidence.

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Losing Power :)

 

The Power of Losing  :)

Watching a child learn chess shows us exactly how we grow. A ten year old often moves a piece straight into danger. They lose the piece, and then they lose the game.

At first, this is frustrating. But soon, the child stops complaining and starts looking at the board. They want to know what went wrong. That is the moment real learning begins.

This is true for any skill you want to master. You cannot grow unless you are ready to fail. 

In fact, you should actively practice losing. When you practice losing early on, you take the fear out of making mistakes. You start looking for the lesson in every defeat.

Winning only shows what you already know how to do. Losing is what teaches you something new. A mistake shows you exactly where your plan broke down and gives you the data you need to improve.

Also you do not have to make every mistake yourself, though. You cannot possibly try every wrong move on your own. This is why you should also watch others lose.
When you observe someone else fail, look for the lesson in their defeat. It allows you to learn without paying the price yourself.

 

To learn anything deeply, you must accept setbacks as the cost of getting better. When you fail, do not walk away. Look at what happened, find the lesson, and set up the board for another game.

 

tload : Low-overhead system load monitoring in Linux

 tload : Low-overhead system load monitoring in Linux

filesystem repair in linux for fat32 filesystem

 

Filesystem repair in linux for fat32 filesystem:

Yes such old USB drives still lives around :) 

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Open your terminal and list all connected storage blocks to find your FAT32 device name (e.g., /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc2). 

 lsblk -o NAME,FSTYPE,SIZE,MOUNTPOINTS

 

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sudo umount /dev/sdb1

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 This scans the filesystem and prompts you for confirmation before fixing any detected errors:

sudo fsck.fat -r -v /dev/sda1

 

-r: Wisely prompts you for a repair method if inconsistencies are found.

-v: Enables verbose mode so you see what the utility is actively doing. 

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If you want Linux to automatically fix all errors without asking for manual confirmation, run:

sudo fsck.fat -a /dev/sdb1

 

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If you only want to inspect the drive for issues without writing changes or altering any data:

sudo fsck.fat -n /dev/sdb1

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The Truths Around Us - Value of Pi and many more to come

The Truths Around Us:

I recently became fascinated by how people figured out the value of π (pi).

It made me think about something bigger.

Many truths already exist in the world. They are not hidden. They are right in front of us. Everyone can see them, but not everyone notices them. Most of us accept things as they are and move on. A few people become curious. They keep asking "Why?" They keep looking until they find the answer.

Once they discover the truth, it does not belong only to them anymore. It becomes useful for everyone. It helps people live better lives and pushes humanity forward.

History is full of such examples.

Objects have always fallen to the ground. People saw it every day. But it took someone to ask why. That curiosity helped us understand gravity.

Tiny germs had always been around us. People could not see them and did not know they caused many diseases. Once scientists discovered them, simple habits like washing hands and keeping things clean saved millions of lives.

The code of life, DNA, has existed inside every living thing for billions of years. It was always there. We just did not know how to read it. Today, that discovery helps doctors treat diseases and understand life in ways that were impossible before.

These discoveries remind us of something important. Truth does not change because we do not understand it. It patiently waits until someone discovers it.

It also makes me wonder how many more truths are still waiting for us.

There are many things we still do not fully understand. We still do not know exactly how consciousness works or why we are aware of ourselves. We still do not fully understand time. We know that most of the universe is made of something we cannot even see, called dark matter and dark energy, but we still do not know what they really are.

Even here on Earth, nature is still far ahead of us.

We can predict the weather much better than before, but we still cannot control it. We cannot stop a cyclone from forming or safely weaken it before it reaches land. We cannot bring rain exactly where and when it is needed during a drought. We understand many parts of nature, but we are still learning how it truly works.

Maybe the answers already exist. Maybe the rules are already there, just like the value of π was always there before anyone calculated it.

That thought is both exciting and humbling.

Every great discovery began with someone looking at something ordinary and asking one simple question:

"Why?"

Perhaps the next great truth is already in front of us, waiting for someone curious enough to notice it.

Fix Intel Wi-Fi Drops on Battery

Fix: Intel Wi-Fi Drops on Battery (Fedora/Linux)

If you have a laptop with Intel Wi-Fi, you might notice your internet stops working the moment you unplug your charger. Usually, the only way to fix it is to restart the whole computer.

The Problem

The Intel driver (iwlwifi) tries to save battery by putting your Wi-Fi card to "sleep." Sometimes, the card fails to wake up properly, causing it to ignore your router. This leads to the "Authentication Failed" errors you see in your logs.

The Solution: Disable Power Save

You can stop the Wi-Fi card from falling into this "deep sleep" by changing a single setting.

1. Create the configuration file

Open a terminal and create a settings file for your Wi-Fi driver:

sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf

2. Add the "Always On" rule

Paste this line into the file:

options iwlwifi power_save=0

(Save and exit by pressing Ctrl+O, Enter, then Ctrl+X.)

3. Reload the driver (No restart needed)

To make the change work immediately without rebooting your laptop, run these commands to "kick" the driver:

sudo modprobe -r iwlmvm
sudo modprobe -r iwlwifi
sudo modprobe iwlwifi

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A Better Way for the Future

While the fix above works great, it is a "workaround." Here is how you should handle this long-term:

• Keep your System Updated: Intel frequently releases "Firmware" updates. Run sudo dnf update regularly. These updates often contain the actual bug fixes that allow power saving to work without crashing.
• Remove the Workaround: Once you have updated your kernel and firmware (e.g., a few months from now), try deleting the file you created: sudo rm /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf
• Test it: If the Wi-Fi stays stable on battery after an update, you no longer need the workaround, and your battery life will be slightly better with the fix removed.

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Three main approaches in Devops

 

In most real-world DevOps and IT strategy discussions, only three main approaches are commonly used. While

"Greenfield" and "Brownfield" are the standard industry terms, Bluefield is the only other major contender, especially in large-scale enterprise environments. 

 

The "Big Three" Most Used Approaches

1. Brownfield (Most Common): The majority of enterprise projects (~44%) follow this path. It focuses on upgrading or migrating existing systems with minimal disruption, retaining legacy data and configurations.
2. Bluefield (Hybrid): This selective approach is nearly as popular as Brownfield (~42%) in complex enterprise migrations. It allows teams to "pick and choose"—starting fresh with modern architecture (Greenfield) while selectively migrating high-value data and proven processes from old systems.
3. Greenfield: Used by about 14% of organizations, this is the "clean slate" approach. It is the standard for startups or new product units that have no legacy technical debt and want maximum innovation potential. 

3. 
   

Summary of Popularity

Approach

	Popularity Share	Best For...
Brownfield	~44%	Faster time-to-market and lower risk.
Bluefield	~42%	Complex migrations needing both innovation and legacy data.
Greenfield	~14%	Complete process overhauls and brand-new products.

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Note: Other terms like "Greyfield" or "Whitefield" are rarely used in standard DevOps practice and are usually confined to niche academic or real-estate-based metaphors [No primary source cited for high DevOps usage].

 

Thanks google AI.

Lindy Effect - What is it? How to make use?

(Thanks to Gemini AI)

Lindy Effect, which suggests that for non-perishable things like ideas or software, the longer they have already survived, the longer they are likely to continue surviving. Having survived 35 years of massive technological shifts, Linux has proven its resilience.

 

 The Lindy Effect is a mental model and statistical heuristic which suggests that for certain things, life expectancy increases with age.¹

While humans, animals, and machines "age" and move closer to death every day, the Lindy Effect describes things that "age in reverse."²

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1. What is it?

The core idea is that for non-perishable things—like ideas, books, technologies, or business models—the future life expectancy is proportional to its current age.³

• The Rule of Thumb: If a book has been in print for 50 years, it is expected to stay in print for another 50 years.⁴ If it survives another 10 years, its new life expectancy isn't 40 years; it actually increases to 60 years.⁵

2. Why does it happen?

The Lindy Effect isn't magic; it is a result of survival of the fittest.⁶

• Time as a Filter: Time is the ultimate "stress test."⁷ If an idea has survived for 2,000 years (like Stoicism), it has survived wars, plagues, technological shifts, and changes in fashion. This suggests it is "robust" or "antifragile"—it possesses a core utility that is not easily rendered obsolete.

• Information vs. Matter: Perishable things (like a banana) are made of matter and subject to physical decay (entropy). Non-perishable things (like the concept of a wheel) are informational.⁸ Information doesn't wear out; it only dies if it becomes irrelevant.

3. Where is it applicable?

You can use the Lindy Effect to judge the "staying power" of various things:

Category	Example of "Lindy" (Likely to Last)	Example of "Non-Lindy" (Likely to Vanish)
Literature	The Odyssey (2,700+ years old)	This week’s #1 Bestseller
Finance	Gold (Used for 5,000+ years)	A 2-year-old "meme" cryptocurrency
Technology	The Hammer (Ancient tool)	A specific VR headset model
Diet	Mediterranean Diet (Centuries old)	The "Raw Water" trend
Social	Religion / Family structures	Modern corporate "culture" fads

4. Can it not exist? (Exceptions)

The Lindy Effect does not apply to anything with a "hard" expiration date or physical mortality.⁹

1. Perishables: Humans, pets, and organic food have a biological ceiling.¹⁰ A 100-year-old man is less likely to live another 100 years, not more.

2. Fragile Systems: If a technology relies on a specific, fragile infrastructure (like a proprietary software that depends on one server), it may fail regardless of how long it has been around.

3. Black Swan Events: A sudden, unprecedented shift can kill something "Lindy."¹¹ For example, the horse and buggy was very "Lindy" for thousands of years until the internal combustion engine created a regime shift.

4. Survivorship Bias: Just because something is old doesn't guarantee it is good; it just means it hasn't died yet. We must be careful not to ignore the "silent graveyard" of old things that eventually did fail.

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How to make use of it in  our life?

To make practical use of the Lindy Effect, you should treat it as a noise filter.¹ In a world obsessed with the "new," Lindy helps you identify what is robust, reliable, and likely to last.²

Here is how you can apply it across different areas of your life:

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1. Education & Learning (The "Classic" Filter)³

Stop chasing every new "best-seller" or trending online course. Most of them will be forgotten in two years.

• The 80/20 Rule for Books: Spend 80% of your reading time on books that have been in print for at least 20 years. If a book has been relevant for 50 years (like Meditations by Marcus Aurelius), the wisdom inside is "Lindy" and likely to be useful for another 50.⁴

• Focus on Fundamentals: Prioritize learning things that don't change: mathematics, logic, rhetoric, and human psychology. These are thousands of years old and will never be "obsolete."

2. Investing & Business (The "Durability" Filter)

Lindy helps you distinguish between a "fad" and a "fortress."⁵

• Value Investing: Warren Buffett uses this principle by investing in companies like Coca-Cola or American Express.⁶ Because they have survived for over a century, they have proven they can handle wars, depressions, and tech shifts.⁷

• Avoid "Bleeding Edge" Fragility: Be skeptical of new financial products (like specific new crypto tokens). If it's only 2 years old, it hasn't survived a "Lindy" stress test yet.

• Bet on the Non-Obvious: Jeff Bezos famously said he builds Amazon on things that won't change in 10 years (customers wanting lower prices and faster delivery).⁸ These are "Lindy" desires.

3. Technology & Tools (The "Future-Proof" Filter)

New software and gadgets often die quickly.⁹ To build a "Lindy-proof" workflow:

• Choose Open Formats: Store your important data in .txt or .csv files. These formats have been around since the beginning of computing and will likely be readable 50 years from now, unlike proprietary app formats.

• Stable Tech Stacks: If you are a developer, choosing a "boring" but established language like C or SQL is a Lindy move. They have lasted decades and are more likely to be relevant in 2040 than the "hottest" framework released last month.

4. Health & Lifestyle (The "Ancestral" Filter)

If humans have been doing something for 10,000 years, it’s likely safer than something we started doing 10 years ago.

• Diet: Natural foods like honey, wine, olive oil, and fermented bread are Lindy. Highly processed lab-grown meat or chemical sweeteners are not—they haven't been "vetted" by time yet.

• Habits: Walking, fasting, and weightlifting have existed for millennia. They are more likely to be "correct" than a specific new 7-minute vibrating-plate exercise fad.

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Summary Checklist:

When faced with a choice, ask yourself:

1. Is this a non-perishable (an idea, a tool, a habit)?

2. How long has it already existed?

3. Has it survived major "shocks" (wars, crashes, tech revolutions)?

If the answer to #3 is "yes," it is likely a safe bet for your time and money.