Learning Journey
This is a republishing of a post I made earlier this year. I have come quite some way and made some progress, but my intentions remain the same.
I suppose an update could be the realization of the fact that a lot of these things are best learned in practice–in the context of a job perhaps, and that it could take years to even come near proficiency. Till I find a job, I’ll keep learning what I can so that the practical aspects won’t take me completely by surprise.
Choosing where to specialize in Computer Science can be a real cause of internal conflict–and it has been for me. I have explored different paths, but more recently I have been studying Cloud Computing and Distributed Systems–mainly using Educative and books such as ‘Designing Data-Intensive Applications’ by Martin Kleppmann. I have a strong interest in building secure and reliable infrastructure and the systems and applications that run on them. I hope to share my learning journey soon.
One of my main struggles has been the pressure to learn fast so I can keep up with the skills most companies currently require to get an internship or full-time job, especially in my field of interest. Learning fast is a very good thing and a core skill in engineering (I can learn quickly), but it becomes a danger when there is no depth, and I believe that when we understand deeply, we can then understand quickly.
Martin Kleppmann quotes Alan Kay in the preface of his book:
Computing is pop culture. […] Pop culture holds a disdain for history. Pop culture is all about identity and feeling like you’re participating. It has nothing to do with cooperation, the past or the future—it’s living in the present. I think the same is true of most people who write code for money. They have no idea where [their culture came from]. —Alan Kay, in interview with Dr Dobb’s Journal (2012)
My goal is mastery, so these posts will be an attempt at synthesis–attempting to connect the dots in seemingly unrelated concepts. I look forward to the growth.
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