4 ms·

Definitely a sound argument. I didn't specialize in school, I like to have a very broad set of CS skills, I found it immensely useful being able to know a bit

by toocool 10y ago

Definitely a sound argument. I didn't specialize in school, I like to have a very broad set of CS skills, I found it immensely useful being able to know a bit of everything. At the same time, in the startup I've been able to specialize in particular aspects of modern cloud infrastructures, and that's what got me in the door with these funds.

a3n 10y ago
> I didn't specialize in school, I like to have a very broad set of CS skills, > I've been able to specialize in particular aspects of modern cloud infrastructures That's fine, great in fact, but not quite what I meant. It was more of a leading question, at a higher level: you probably didn't specialize in whatever your startup is fixing or disrupting. My suggestion was at a higher level than what we study at school. How does a hedge fund work. How does a medical device work, and not kill its patient. How does an airplane keep itself flying, and keep its pilots and home office and suppliers informed about and in control of its performance. How do we keep passengers comfortable and entertained. How does an airplane in flight fit in with all the other airplanes in flight and on the ground. How does FedEx tell me that my new phone just entered their facility in Wuhan China (which they just did), and deliver on their statement that it will be here Thursday at 10:30am (which I believe will probably happen, plus or minus hours). In that example, there's at least two parts: The logistics of actually moving that phone and knowing where it is, and the system that's keeping me, the customer, informed. How do first responders know where to go, and how do we know who to send first? How does a wind turbine work. "What do people do all day?" (One of my favorite books, and I'm pretty old.) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/313375.What_Do_People_Do_All_Day_ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/313375.What_Do_People_Do... For all of the above, and much else, software is both essential and incidental. It's the larger picture, what are we actually doing with software, that's most interesting (to me). We're lucky enough that we can move around and see all of that.

by toocool 10y ago

a3n 10y ago

> I didn't specialize in school, I like to have a very broad set of CS skills, > I've been able to specialize in particular aspects of modern cloud infrastructures That's fine, great in fact, but not quite what I meant. It was more of a leading question, at a higher level: you probably didn't specialize in whatever your startup is fixing or disrupting. My suggestion was at a higher level than what we study at school. How does a hedge fund work. How does a medical device work, and not kill its patient. How does an airplane keep itself flying, and keep its pilots and home office and suppliers informed about and in control of its performance. How do we keep passengers comfortable and entertained. How does an airplane in flight fit in with all the other airplanes in flight and on the ground. How does FedEx tell me that my new phone just entered their facility in Wuhan China (which they just did), and deliver on their statement that it will be here Thursday at 10:30am (which I believe will probably happen, plus or minus hours). In that example, there's at least two parts: The logistics of actually moving that phone and knowing where it is, and the system that's keeping me, the customer, informed. How do first responders know where to go, and how do we know who to send first? How does a wind turbine work. "What do people do all day?" (One of my favorite books, and I'm pretty old.) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/313375.What_Do_People_Do_All_Day_ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/313375.What_Do_People_Do... For all of the above, and much else, software is both essential and incidental. It's the larger picture, what are we actually doing with software, that's most interesting (to me). We're lucky enough that we can move around and see all of that.