Correction of Attitudes

Here is a question from Quora,

What are some of the most mind-blowing facts?

And two of the answers make me think.

1. Life < 900 Months

“Your lifespan is likely about 900 months. That’s a 30×30 rectangle of boxes, if you care to draw them. ”

This is a scaring fact. There’re times I imagine myself facing death, and I know deep inside, I will be totally freaked out.

And life is just about 900 months, and I have spent 1/3 of it. 600 months, that’s all I got. I’ve got to be serious about the time I have, and how I spent it.

I wish the day I have to face death, I am smiling with a peaceful heart.

2. Confined Environment is Better for Great Software

“The guidance computer from the Apollo 11 mission ran at 1.024 MHz, about 1/6th of the processing power of a TI-83 calculator, and it took human beings to the moon.”

I’ve got to say, the software used at Apollo 11 must be great!

The software industry has become complicated, fancy and distractive. There’re simply too many platforms, programming languages, development tools, and APIs. We software engineers are getting used to search, copy, paste, and calling yet another set of API to develop software.

Well, we may develop software applications for years, but never know how things really work, buried in new tools, platforms, etc. That’s the success of the big companies providing platforms and tools, but we failed ourselves to become real software engineers and probably lose interest for software along the way.

The computer doesn’t have to be powerful than a modern calculator get human beings on the moon.  Great software engineers doesn’t rely on too many fancy APIs for great software.

I’ve got to learn more low level stuff! And read more, think more, code less!