October 13, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Great DBA’s in History
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
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October 13, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Thats an interesting question.
Im not sure the qualities of any great figure in history, let alone Generals would be ideal for a DBA, those people tend to be tremendously ambitious a quality which would see a DBA aiming at CIO or setting up their own company.
My nomination is Charles Darwin.
October 14, 2009 at 4:09 am
mtucker-732014 (10/13/2009)
Thats an interesting question.Im not sure the qualities of any great figure in history, let alone Generals would be ideal for a DBA, those people tend to be tremendously ambitious a quality which would see a DBA aiming at CIO or setting up their own company.
My nomination is Charles Darwin.
You're probably right about most generals, especially the big names in history. However, it is just a mind exercise. BTW, why Darwin? Remember, flipping the bit, saying yes or no, is not enough. You need to justify the answer to show your thought processes.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
October 14, 2009 at 6:06 am
My answer would be Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.
Before becoming a Civil War hero and great man (and later President of Bowdoin college in Maine), Chamberlain became a hero on Little Roundtop at the battle of Gettysburg by understanding the very basics of SQL Server - Rows and Columns.
Chamberlain's forces were almost gone, indeed presumed wiped-out by his commanders when Chamberlain conjured up a simple move by taking the 20th of Maine into a few rows and columns and turning them down on the Tennessee volunteers who greatly outnumbered him. Under attack from their flank and unaware of the true numbers against them, the Tennessee volunteers dropped their weapons and surrendered, and Little Round Top remained in Union hands. Had it not, many historians agree that the South may well have won that battle.
As best I can measure, this was the first time in American history that understanding the basics of rows and columns had one man administer a crucial victory. What more could be asked from any DBA?
October 14, 2009 at 6:23 am
I would have to go with well known law enforcement types, such as J. Edgar Hoover. He had them create a centralized fingerprint database, was constantly gathering information from different sources, etc. So he had an eye for detail and was used to invesgating things. If he decided to apply it to performance issues in a database rather than finding criminals, I would think he'd be an excellent DBA.
October 14, 2009 at 9:41 am
The primary requisites, in my opinion, of a good DBA, are reasonable intelligence, a reasonable level of dedication, a high level of integrity, and an amazing tollerance for boredom.
Alexander the Great would have been a horrible DBA, simply due to the lack of tollerance for boredom, if nothing else.
Machiavelli would probably have been bad at it too, though more through a rejection of the necessity for integrity.
Archimedes might have made a good DBA, but he'd have to have been on the cutting edge of some challenging technology to keep him interested. The "please don't disturb my circles" thing shows a good ability to keep cool while under pressure, but also a tendency to mis-assign priorities in an emergency.
Sun Tzu would more likely take Codd's place than be a simple DBA. Same might be said for Archimedes, of course.
Pythagoras would be a bit too eccentric to get through most job interviews, but if he couldn't find an employer, he'd have created his own database engine and might be a mover-and-shaker in the open source scene.
Nobody would understand Nikolai Tesla's database designs, but they would totally rock. That might work out, might not. (Generations after he died, mere geniuses would be saying things like, "Oh! I finally understand why he built that index that way!")
Albert Einstein would know more about relational theory and the internal workings of the engine than anyone, but would forget to set up maintenance plans and verify backups. The next generation of databases would benefit tremendously from his theories.
Robert Oppenheimer would build gargantuan databases with unbelievable performance, but would lose his access to them through political manipulation.
Yeah, this is kind of fun.
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
Property of The Thread
"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
October 14, 2009 at 9:48 am
Excellent. Now tell me what color your parachute is and you're hired.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
October 14, 2009 at 10:01 am
Grant Fritchey (10/14/2009)
Excellent. Now tell me what color your parachute is and you're hired.
In my case, it's probably gotta have that "mood ring" thing where it changes color depending on skin temperature. 🙂
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
Property of The Thread
"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
October 14, 2009 at 2:43 pm
GSquared, thanks for starting my day off with a laugh!
Cheers!
Nicole Bowman
Nothing is forever.
October 14, 2009 at 3:58 pm
My justification for Charles Darwin:
Like any good naturalist he had an eye for detail, was very persistent and patient. I think he would have liked the idea of vast searchable databases.
He was also a man of integrity, was intelligent, and had the ability to see the big picture as well as the small.
He also had a great beard.
October 14, 2009 at 5:37 pm
I think Richard Milhouse I am not a crook Nixon was a sick man who wrote a lot of books on his version of Watergate instead of being a man to clean up his image in his later years. So I think it is Archimedes and JOINS will be idempotent.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes
😎
Kind regards,
Gift Peddie
October 15, 2009 at 5:15 am
More excellent answers.
And yes, Darwin had a heck of a beard. Maybe it's time to grow mine again.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
October 15, 2009 at 1:59 pm
I'd like to say Teddy Roosevelt, but I think he's a classic DBA. Strong willed, a bit of a bully, and pushing things through with a sheer force of will at times.
However, after reading Team of Rivals, about Abraham Lincoln, I think he might be a great one. He worked with disparate elements in his own party, bringing them into his cabinet and getting them to work well together. He maintained his agenda, doing what he thought was right, and worked to help others understand the path. Even sometimes letting them argue and make mistakes within the context of his administration and learn on their own.
October 19, 2009 at 11:32 am
Good DBAs in History: How about George Washington Carver.
Thousands of experiments, many resulting in useful ( or delicious) products. He even made a diamond out of a peanut. My choice anyways.
Thanks,
Maggie Perkins
Marketing Database Analyst
Zaner-Bloser Language Arts (a division of Hightlights for Children)
October 19, 2009 at 12:08 pm
maperkins (10/19/2009)
Good DBAs in History: How about George Washington Carver.Thousands of experiments, many resulting in useful ( or delicious) products. He even made a diamond out of a peanut. My choice anyways.
Thanks,
Maggie Perkins
Marketing Database Analyst
Zaner-Bloser Language Arts (a division of Hightlights for Children)
Excellent choice. I grew up near Neosho Mo. where the George Washington Carver Institute is located. I took so many tours of the place that around age 10 I was correcting the tour guides. He was a very amazing man. You're right, he would have made a terrific DBA, or probably anything else he set his mind to.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
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