Life vs. Computers

2014-06-25

As I’ve been working with code to try and do some programming to get the computer to format my text properly, I’ve run into some issues. It’s got me thinking… You know how computers think… wait, you do?! No you don’t! Computers don’t think, unfortunately, that’s the problem. Computers aren’t good at connecting the dots or making inferences like humans are. All they can do is connect the dots that a human tells them to. There’s the rub. The computer is only as smart as you are.

Fortunately, when I’m writing a program to go through my 80,000+ words of text (times 6, since there’s 4 lines of interlinearization plus one of free translation = 480,000) which it parses in an instant, the computer tells me when it fails. Or rather, since I’m writing the code, when I FAIL. You know exactly where you stand with a computer, because there’s only one right way for a code to run, and that’s if all the processes are logical and well-formed according to the rules of the code’s architecture.

I must say I’m glad that life isn’t that way. Yes, there are principles that can be recognized and lived. You generally receive from life based on what you put into relationships, study, work, etc… But there’s no single perfect way to run. It’s not like the world is a giant piece of code architecture and your life is a logical process from one thing to another. Life is dynamic. It can change and be changed by a small movement in one direction or another. And failure is just the beginning of a new direction.

On the way back to the office from dinner the other night (see how much time this coding takes if I go back to the office after dinner!) I was talking with one of my friends about job prospects and how life changes. There’s a lot of uncertainty, but I said that one thing I’ve learned is to figure out what is important to you and make it part of your life. I guess I’m still figuring…