Communicating in a networked world
I like to think I’m open and helpful. Not everyone would agree. But the one thing that really annoys me is the email whose title is “…quick question…”
Of course the question will be quick. But, if it’s a question worth answering, the answer will take an hour.
Are you “straight” or are you “twisted?”
You’ve probably never thought about this, but if you are currently using a mouse, take a look at how the mouse is positioned with respect to your screen. Is the mouse pointing straight away from your body, or is it twisted around to point directly at your screen?
I constantly find that I’m unconsciously twisting the mouse to point toward the screen (first illustration), even though this makes no difference whatsoever in how it functions. It doesn’t get smoother—it doesn’t get faster—it doesn’t gain precision. Sweeping it leftward in an arc still moves the cursor to the left across the screen. Pushing it toward the screen still moves the cursor upward.
Bruce Schneier says “Remember this: The math is good, but math has no agency. Code has agency, and the code has been subverted.” (read original)
What this means is that the theory behind something — in this case encryption using “hard” mathematics — may be very good, but the implementation can be full of “gotchas” — errors, omissions, faults — and that‘s what will get you in the long term. He was specifically commenting on Edward Snowden’s revelations about the US National Security Agency and whether they can read all encrypted messages, but it can apply to many other software endeavors.
If you’re thinking of writing some software whose function is critical, and especially if lives depend on it, you have to be extremely careful with your implementation. And Open Source is a big plus because other eyes can look at your code and spot mistakes that you, as author, are likely to overlook.
So whatever you’re working on, be very, very careful with the implementation.
Geek: one who is deep into the intricacies of a discipline, study or physical objects. {e.g. “Computer geeks”} A geek usually makes his own world and socializes about his chosen study. Frequently the geek doesn’t care much about the opinions of others about his chosen love-object, leading to their becoming socially ostracized. But, “So what?” A geek participates in geek activities every day, and preferably at least once every hour. The word may derive from European languages where it means fool or crazy.
Fanboy: one who is unreasonably geeky, proud of and proseletyzing about a discipline, study or physical objects. {“Apple fanboy”} Flamewars frequently arise between fanboys and their opponents because of the depth (and unreasonability) of their beliefs surrounding their love-object. A fanboy participates in fanboy activities “as needed” which might be each day, or sometimes only once a month. The word fan is a shortening of the word fanatic.
Ham: one who is showoffingly self-involved in participation in a discipline, study or physical objects. {“Ham” on the stage; “Ham” radio} On the stage, a “ham” usually overdoes it, going beyond what is necessary — and usually because he just loves doing it and gets a charge from his love-object. A ham usually participates in ham activities “when they feel like it” and sometimes in ways that indicate they feel they are invisible, such as ham radio operators talking on the radio when walking down the street. (Umm…that begs the question of whether cellphone street-walker-talkers are ham radio operators.) The word is a shortening of the word amateur.
My life is a series of cycles. One of them in particular has the lyrics “Business; learning; business; learning; business; learning…” I spend a few years building a company or a product, I become successful at it (most of the times), I then leave and cycle back into something I want to “learn.” And that learning period becomes formative in determining what I can productively do in the next business cycle.
Steve Jobs knew about these cycles, and said during his famous Stanford University commencement address of 2005 [7:22 into the video, which you can find on NPR]
“The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again.”
These cycles have nothing to do with whether you get rich or become a bum. They have to do with how you decide to use your precious years. He put the exclamation point on it [12:40 into the same video] by adding
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”