What Problems to Solve (1966)

1. godelski ◴[26 Jun 25 05:32 UTC] No.44384450[source]▶

  > No problem is too small or too trivial if we can really do something about it.

I think we often forget this. Especially in our fast paced world and career. But often it is the little things which are hard to get right and also the things that create the most problems.

I think we try to think we can predict what are important problems and what are not. Sometimes this is easy and we're right, but often we aren't. This is true in math, physics, and computer science. In any domain. So do what you like because you never really know. Plus, they say interest is worth an extra 10 IQ points.

From all my reading of Feynman I think there's one thing he'd stress: have fun. To never lose the creativity, that child like wonder. In CS we got here because we loved to play around and hack. I hope we never lose that.

replies(1): >>44391118 #

2. gjvc ◴[26 Jun 25 20:41 UTC] No.44391118[source]▶

>>44384450 (TP) #

In CS we got here because we loved to play around and hack. I hope we never lose that.

get a job with a few managers and a jira installation and it will dry up pretty quick.

replies(1): >>44391277 #

3. godelski ◴[26 Jun 25 20:57 UTC] No.44391277[source]▶

>>44391118 #

Well that's kinda my point. If you are losing it, push back. I'm betting there are others who feel the same but also feel alone.

Remember, they hire us for our skills. They hire us for our expertise. That means not always being a yes man. If you don't stand up for what you think is right, the product will become worse. The reason to question your boss is because you're on the same side: making the best product you can. It's okay to be wrong, it's okay to speak up, it is okay to ask questions. If anyone says anything different, they aren't interested in making the product, they are interested in their paycheck. Frankly, most of this loss we're talking about is because the business people took over and don't understand that an engineer saying "but what about <x>" is not "no" it is "yes, but let's figure out how". This culture needs to be fixed, and it requires every day normal people to make that normal.