I’ve never had a grand plan for life. As it’s turned out so far, I can’t imagine a more fun way to do it. But that also means I bounced around a lot of different jobs and careers before I found computer science. I’ll save you the long story of what led up to this, but none of it was very technical in nature, and I’m as surprised as anyone to be here now. When I started the post-bacc program at Oregon State, I had essentially zero knowledge of how a computer worked. Now, nearing the end of this degree program, it seems appropriate to open this blog with a post on the journey from then to now. More specifically – I’ll share a few thoughts on how this experience has changed me, and why I love that it did.
If I know anything at all about how brains work (I watched an episode of NOVA about it once), then I understand that synapses become more hard-wired over time making it harder to learn and change. I have done “technical” things before – e.g. operating intricate machinery and vehicles, executing complex protocols, pasteurizing cheese – but my last real “mathy” experience before this was a calculus for non-majors class a very long time ago. CS was undiscovered country for me.
So there I was, opening my first class on Canvas. First module: Problem Solving. This is something that I have seen on every job posting in the world and I’m sure I’ve listed it as a skill on every resume I’ve ever submitted. I didn’t realize until I started programming that I, in fact, never really knew what problem solving actually is. At least I wouldn’t be able to define it in any sufficient way. For most of the jobs I have had (not coincidentally the ones I hated), “problem solving” consisted mostly of smoothing of ruffled feathers. I don’t want to downplay the value of soft skills. Communication is hard. If you think about what it actually takes to transmit a concept from one isolated, non-corporeal consciousness, across totally unknown bridge to a physical medium, and then across space and time to another isolated consciousness, you might be inclined to take the rest of the day off and have a drink. There is no procedure for this, but nothing gets done if we’re not really good at it.
Computers are different, of course. You can’t sooth an upset computer’s temper – it doesn’t have one. You can’t convince it to do something by giving it encouragement. And it’s going to be a pretty rough go if you don’t have a strong process to get to a solution. Let’s break it down with a bad metaphor. I want to build a house. What do I need to make that happen? I’ll need materials. OK. What materials? Wood? Nails, probably. Research is indicated. Oops. According to YouTube, there’s a lot more to this than I thought. OK. New plan. What blanks still need to be filled in before I buy wood and nails? etc. This is much better than the “buy a bunch of stuff at Home Depot and then see if any of it sticks together” approach.
The problem solving process is not linear – we don’t know what we don’t know. But it must be methodical. The process for me I found is identifying an end state, and then asking the first obvious question that might lead to a solution. Figure out what steps are entailed, and figure out how to do them. Then ask the next question. As these questions are answered, fill in or revise the plan. Eventually a plan is built out and discrete steps are identified. The actual doing is relatively easy. One foot in front of the other until you get there. Sounds obvious. It is obvious.
This inevitability of engineering is beautiful. Jim Lovell (Apollo astronaut) said of the moon landing, “It’s not a miracle. We just decided to go.” This didn’t come out of some corporate brainstorming session. It was deliberate and methodical, purposeful. I just didn’t know how it worked until I started studying CS. When I say that computers, engineering and programming are beautiful, I don’t just mean that science is cool. I’ve always considered myself relatively science literate. But actually being committed to logic and working with it opened up an entirely new perspective that I thought I already had. I can more clearly see humanity’s terrifying potential. What will we decide to do? Let us tread carefully here, friends!
More personally, over the course of this program, I have noticed that the new knowledge is not simply an accumulation of information. It’s also not simply adoption of new practices and approaches. This is the rewiring of my brain I mention above, and it was not easy. My brain protested much. I see the world differently than I did two years ago. I think differently. Before, I could not think recursively. Now I can, if not very well. Still neat, though. This was not just a new “fact” that I learned – it is a new muscle that I had never exercised before. Significantly, I act differently – more efficiently, logically, and pragmatically. I’m better able to chart a path in my own life. I am at least a little more organized. I am a better rounded individual – which I guess brings us back to the start. I never had a plan in life. Now I do.
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