staying on your toes:
there’s a strange kind of stability in the tech industry. being downstream of constant change is obviously risky, because at some point, those changes will come for your skills, your job, or your way of life. “come for” isn’t exactly accurate, but you know what i mean because that’s how it feels (and “it” usually feels like “they”). for younger people or those already in the industry, these shifts can feel like new opportunities (more control, not less) because living in a space defined by innovation means getting comfortable with change. and change is inevitable in life so that mindset is better than being lulled to sleep by whatever the current mode of operation is. eventually, the pace becomes too fast for everyone. that’s also inevitable. but the more resistance you build up, the shorter the time between fearing change and seeing the opportunity it brings, the better. so that’s one practical reason i want to stay in tech: i don’t want to get caught flat-footed by the inevitable changes life throws our way.
better problems:
old tech gets pushed to its limits. creative people find endless use-cases and variations, but eventually, it starts to feel like there are no more options. no more unique ways to present or do a thing. then even more creative people come along. they remix it, revert it back to the old ways, re-contextualize the current approach until it feels fresh again. but even that only works for so long before the thing really is done. the problems start to feel like laws of nature. then, there’s a breakthrough. a discovery. technology comes in and solves the fundamental problem. it breathes new life into what had become stagnant. horses were the most refined method of land travel for centuries, bred to perfection and adapted in countless ways, then cars arrived. then airplanes. plays told stories visually for thousands of years, then movies emerged. board games, card games, then video games. again and again and again. i love technology because not only does it push us into more compelling and intricate and integrated ways of doing things, it creates a new problem for us to focus on. just when humans throw up their hands and say, “we’ve maxed it all out. there’s nothing left,” tech opens a new door. and all the curious, smart, creative people rush through that door and start the cycle again. there is no end because the problems are endless. technology solves one problem and create a new one. but the new problem is better than the old problem, less severe, less immediate, more fundamental. still a problem, but one that feels a little more worthy of solving. and that is a good thing, because if we ever ran out of problems to solve we’d find ourselves running off the cliff like those looney tunes characters