Passion for technology ...contd

Before you start reading, let me warn you that this definitely qualifies as a *RANT*

Software Architects and “Passion” for technology.

A lot of the time when talking to people who are in the field of software technology itself, I get the distinct feeling that people feel that “passion” for technology is the same as having a “knowledge” of technology. I tend to disagree. And Strongly.

In no way, is KNOWLEDGE (either in breadth or in depth) of technology the same as a “Passion” for technology. There is a HUGE difference between the two. Knowledge of technology is what provides the technical know-how to create a solution. BUT, “Passion” is what ensures that this know-how is used in the best and most suitable manner.

Let me cite a simplistic example:

Common SQL best practice: Dont use Select * in your Select statements. But, i have come across a specific scenario in my projects where i thought it made SENSE to use Select * because the usual drawbacks associated didnt apply in this case and the benefit was flexibility, which we wanted.

So, if i go just by the standards, i would end up writing a lot of different SQL statements for something that got very cleanly handled with just one statement.

What i am trying to highlight here is that there are always standards and references but not always is the decision to choose which is applicable and which is not, IN A PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCE, always a straight forward or a obvious one. And in such situations, I think it is the “Passion” that I refer to, the “FEELING” to do the “correct thing” which makes a difference as to whether the selected choice is the best choice.

I thought about it honestly and wondered if I could just call this feeling “Common Sense” but I decided against calling it that because I have myself been in a lot of situations where my “Common sense”, if I use it, points me to the right solution, but I have honestly not “CARED” enough about technology and have had no qualms about choosing the worse of 2 available options just because the worse one was more convenient or faster or easier or something i already knew and did not have to spend time learning about.

Think about it: You must have worked with people, maybe even yourself, who made mistakes inspite of knowing that what they were doing were a mistake. I definitely have detected loads of code review defects, which i thought should never have been there, especially coz the developer agreed point-blank that there was no justification for them not implementing it. This is a direct result of the lack of the very “passion” that I am referring to.

There is another commonly used argument against “Passion” which is that people with “passion” for technology are so absorbed in it that they will ignore the customer needs / project constraints. I again disagree.

a. I think it is more of a assumption that people have that a person with a “Passion” for technology is oblivious to customer needs / constraints. I think any reasonably intelligent person understands that there are ALWAYS constraints in doing anything and that applies to software as well, just like to any aspect of life, for that matter. So, the assumption that someone who is passionate about technology will forgo all his customers needs or benefits or all the constraints that apply to his work, outside of his control, seems to be more of a knee-jerk reaction to the “geek” cliché rather than anything else.

b. I dont see any reason why a person who is passionate about technology will be any more oblivious to his overall environment than a person who is not passionate about technology. Does being passionate about technology make a person unreasonable or vice versa? I think neither.

c. A Passion for technology is not something as narrow or restrictive as “I like .NET” or “SAP is the best”. A passion for technology is the belief that SCIENCE (which gives rise to technology) can and is being used to provide and create SOLUTIONs to PROBLEMS that exist. And anyone who thinks with that defintion of technology would probably not be easily swayed from his customers requirements or constraints that exist.

So, at this point, to rephrase a question once put to me,

Would you rather have a architect who is passionate about technology and who can understand and work with it within his client’s needs and constraints

OR

Would you prefer to have an architect who understand the clients needs and constraints and knows technology (but doesnt really care much for it)

Independence Day.....

Independence Day TV…

It was inevitable, with all our television channels and all our scores of news channels, that something like Independence Day would fall prey to the same commercialisation that everything else has fallen to in recent times..

There are all sorts of channels and programs having NOTHING relevant to Independance day being advertised all over TV and Radio, all just trying to cash in on the “holiday” and use it to their advantage to get the maximum number of eyeballs and eardrums for that day.

There are movie channels trying to exploit the afternoon of Independance Day to get us to increase their TRP’s by watching “KRRISH”

There are news channels trying to exploit it by conducting some INANE first ever Indo – Pak opinion polls...

There are positives to everything and probably the saddest but greatest positive here is that were it not for the ads promoting KRRISH, a LOT of people may not even remember that it is in fact India’s Independance day today.

Sad but true.

National Anthem at the movies…

I was one of those people who treated the idea that some Maharastra government came up with to play the national anthem before every screening in theatres in bombay with scorn and contempt. To me, it was just another inane, nonsensical political gimmick....

But, everytime since, whenever i have stood before the 70MM screen and watched the National Anthem being played, I have, in all honesty, really relished it because ever since leaving my school, where the national anthem was played everyday in assembly, i had NEVER ever got a chance to sing / hear the national anthem and forgotten what a great feeling it really is....especially when you sing along to it.

Its sad that other than people who represent the country officially, the common man, whom that very flag represents, rarely gets a chance to even hear it, leave alone sing it in any aspect of his normal life.

So, in a warped up way, i am thankful to whatever politician came up with that idea, for whatever his reasons may have been, because it gives me a rare joy everytime i go to watch a movie. It takes me back to school in a very nostalgic way.

One last word…

Wordweb seems to think that Independence = “Freedom from control or influence of another or others”

If that is a correct definition of Independance, then honestly, from 1997 to 2007, havent we been going in the OPPOSITE direction?

After all, our markets are dependant on others now. When NASDAQ falls, so does the BSE. Our economy is more prone to get affected by external factors. Even our Nuclear program now has external influence on it. We are dependant on others more and more now than we were before 1992. Am i just being simplistic or maybe i should just take WordWeb with a pinch of salt?

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY.