This week, our team has been really plowing through our planning phase. When working with a sponsor it can be difficult sometimes to know exactly what they expect and how involved in the process they want to be. It can also be difficult to form a clear consensus about what parts of the plan to execute when there are multiple options on the table.
All that being said, so far the process of planning has been somewhat fruitful. We have an idea of what we want to do, and how we want to do it. There are still some unresolved questions about what code base we should use for specific tasks, which I hope we can get resolved soon.
Figuring out how to predict future stock prices is basically what our project is designed to do. Money has a special power over people. When people see money, or they imagine lots of money, or they see other people with more money than themselves, they generally react very strongly. Money is the air that fills the balloon of the human ego. The more of it we have, the smarter and more deserving we consider ourselves to be. Its very interesting to observe a humans behavior as their stock prices change. When their stocks go up, they become vocal and boisterous, their intelligence increases 30% and they will be glad to tell you how to make a lot of money in the stock market. The balloon fills with air. On the other hand when their stock prices go down, all hope is lost. Their shoulders droop, their mouth shuts and they become despondent.
Yes, it is true, the power of money over the human mind can not be exaggerated. Money represents the imaginary fulfilment of all hopes and desires. People say to themselves, ‘If I only had enough money to do X, things would be different’ . Other people that do have money generally have already satisfied whatever they thought that X was. But usually it turns out that X didn’t provide satisfaction for very long.
My point is, when tasked with creating software that basically tells you how to make money, all is fine and well until ….it starts to work. As soon as the money starts flowing and the word gets out, what used to be a quit library of study and solitude turns into a carnival of fear, greed, pride, jealousy and yes… lots of balloons. The juxtaposition of developing code in intellectual environment and being in the grips of an emotional roller coaster is quit a contrast. In the end, money is a tool that helps us achieve things in life, but its power over us must be understood and respected.
