Word

Technology is like a word. It is wonderful gift given by God. The way of its use completely depends on us. Everyone has access to it, and it could uplift people and hurt people. We need wisdom and to make wise decisions to optimize its betefits. Parents need to teach their children appropriate ways of its use because how they use it affects their character and might determine their future. Engineers are like novelists. They are supposed to inspire people to do good and to make their lives truly better through technology. 

Priority

We do have the ability to prioritize our tasks based on our belief. We know which task we really should do in each moment. Technology just a tool that helps you doing your tasks but should not prioritize them for you. If we neglect to use the ability to prioritize, the tool decides what you do. Do not let other things prioritize your tasks and control your life.

Waste Time

Time is limited. Steve Jobs' death reminds me that we have no reason to waste time. The end of life does not always wait until you do something valuable. Steve Jobs and his company Apple created sensational products and have become one of the profitable organizations. He however, might achieve something even greater if he had more time. Looking back on my life, I feel I have wasted about one hour per day by randomly surfing the Internet or having an unnecessary nap. It is roughly 15 days per year and literary means that I have wasted one year in my life. Nobody wants to waste time if they know that they are dying someday soon. I wish I could live like I am dying tomorrow so that I do not miss even one second.

More Women

We lose many chances to have great future software engineers. Most of the time women do not choose Computer Science as a major. A few years ago, when you thought of software, you thought of a desktop computer, but now software is everywhere. Software is used by men, women, and even children. It is sometimes hard for men to understand the demands of female users, but it should be easier for women. Moral issues associated with the Internet might be resolved by women's influence. We need more women so that software engineering could serve people better.

Vulnerability

Vulnerability catches people's eyes. People usually make fun of it and then leave, but curious smart people collaborate and work on it to reduce vulnerability just for fun. They eventually make it perfect and might create even greater inventions. If you want to create something truly great, you do not have to make something perfectly working. You just preapre something interesting and expandable enough to facinate curious people.

Be More Careful

We might have to read carefully any contract we sign. I'm currently working as a software engineering intern for a software company in Draper and writing code for their product. I remember that I signed some employment contract I did not carefully read when I started the internship. After reading the assigned articles, I thought about one question. Would the comapany I work for would own everything I write? I get paid to sit and write code, so they probably would. I actually do not care whether they would or not because I am not that talented yet. I, however, do care the fact that I have never thought about it. If I was a more talented and experienced engineer who provides excellent ideas that could directly contributes to the company's growth, the fact could have been more serious.

Desire Matters

An iceberg floating in water looks magnificent because the underwater portion is much bigger than the portion you can see from the surface. We write because we have something to express, but we cannot be a good writer if we do not have strong feeling to express in our mind. In the writing process, cutting unnecessary parts and seeking more simple and direct ways to express makes the writer think about the topic at a deeper level. The writer needs to figure out the core idea and describe it as short as possible. If he has strong desire to express the idea to the audience, the idea tends to be more clear, and the way he describes it becomes more effective.