One of my longtime friends from Mumbai, Harshu, has been e-mailing me links over the past few months of new entries he writes in his blog. Although my illiteracy in computer programming is not something I'm proud of, I found my attention captivated by the clarity and simplicity of his writing as well as his passion for coding which comes through in his posts. My curiosity got the better of me and I ended up reading his entire blog (which, reader, I highly encourage you to do; as written, you need not understand programming to appreciate it). I was so impressed upon reading it that I felt compelled to blog about it. So here we are.
A few words about Harshu: we have known each other since we were in elementary school. I don't remember ever not being friends with him. Don't you love the kind of friendships that have endured over so many years and so many miles you are unable to recall how they began? Funnily enough, we never lived in the same building, never went to the same school, and barely had any mutual friends. But somehow, through some cosmic alignment, we have always enjoyed a healthy relationship built on affection and respect. When I migrated to America, we stayed in touch via e-mail; when he moved to the US to pursue a Master's degree at the University of Cincinnati, we were in touch through phone calls; and now that he's living in the Bay Area, we periodically call each other to catch up. Although we have never been the kind of friends (not yet, at least) that know everything that's happening in each other's lives, there's no warm-up required for us. The communication just flows. In the past, when we saw each other after a handful of years, there was an obvious comfort we felt in each other's company.
The overall impression I got after reading his whole blog is how proud he is of being a software developer. Indeed, he calls himself a software craftsman. That is so refreshing! Some might find that to be self-important, etc., but anybody who is remotely aware of the role software development plays in today's world will allow him and his ilk that luxury. Besides, how is he not a craftsman? Is he not spending his time creating rules and guidelines for a product to function in a beneficial manner? By that logic, he is indeed involved in a creative endeavor on a daily basis. He is unapologetic about the fact that he plays a crucial role in today's society, that the work he does impacts virtually every aspect of our lives, the way we live, our lifestyle.
His first entry, written in February, 2011, gives a great indication of his intellect and his passion for software development: he pursued a project outside of his regular job because he--key word--cared about a particular endeavor. And it snowballed into him landing his current job in California. The main lesson is that if you feel an emotional connection to your work or any given activity, you're more likely to dive into it and, in all probability, excel at it. As an aside, I downloaded the StumbleUpon application on my phone and although I am yet to spend much time on it, it seems to be fascinating. Again, made possible because of programming!
His third entry, written in August, 2011, shows his love for software development and his humility at being relatively new at it. The fact that he spends "quite some time after work thinking" about his profession tells us how consumed he is by what he does for a living. I clicked on the hyperlink for Cal Newport's blog and read all the entries on the homepage. What I found most interesting is the way Cal (and, I'm guessing, Harshu) insist on maintaining a healthy work-life balance on a day-to-day basis. Although they are immersed in their work, their lives are not defined by it. They do not let what they do at the office dominate what they do--or not--at home. A significant amount of importance is given to doing less; the emphasis, however, as always, is to do whatever you do very well. One of Cal's posts which I found not only immensely intriguing but also urgently pertinent is titled, Don't Ask "What Are You Good At?" Ask Instead "What Are You Willing To Get Good At?" On deeper thought, I found that to be totally valid. At the dawn of one's professional career, one may not be good at anything. But certainly there will be things one has an interest in and would be keen on investing more time and effort into them in order to become good at them. As I myself am at a crossroads currently as far as what to do with my life, I found this advice extremely sensible and valuable. Filmmaking is what I'm interested in and willing to become good--great--at. I initially disagreed with Cal's disagreement with the maxim, "follow your passion." However, upon reading his blog and doing some critical thinking of my own, I realize the truth in his disagreement of it. I believe one should follow one's interests, an activity in which one likes to be engaged for hours at a time; as Cal writes in the aforementioned blogpost, "passion will grown along with your skill."
Harshu's fourth entry, written in March, 2012, mentions a very important truth of life: learning by doing. Of course, one does not always have the luxury of indulging in trial-and-error work, but a healthy balance of theoretical learning and practical doing is essential for succeeding in any field. When I started writing my first feature film screenplay in 2009, I had neither had any formal education in writing screenplays nor had I so much as dabbled in it. However, piggybacking off the previous paragraph, I was willing to invest time and effort in that activity to become good at it, and I was willing to learn by doing. Just as building a game in a programming language unfamiliar to him was satisfying to Harshu, so was finishing my first full-length screenplay satisfying to me. Once the initial interest and hunger to learn is there in a field, it is only a matter of time before Harshu, myself, or anybody else builds/creates/develops something that exceeds their own expectations. The concept of deliberate practice, advocated by Cal Newport, makes a lot of sense and it is something I will be adhering to henceforth.
His sixth entry, written in January, 2013, elaborates on his belief of being a craftsman. Of the three essentials he lists for progressing as a craftsman, I found the last one particularly key: "The tenacity to work hard through the not so interesting parts." How true! Although I partially disagree with Harshu that "you need to satisfy your work rather than rooting for some dream passion" (depends on the career one is engaged in and the career one wants to engage in; if both are the same, then there is no issue), I opine that once you have found, at the risk of being redundant, an activity you're willing to become better at, then "[s]atisfying the work that is given to you is a stepping stone towards building expertise and thus uncovering a deeper satisfaction of the work that you do." On the whole, in fact, this blogpost is so well-written, I want to provide a link to it right here. Great observations, my friend. (Check out Roger Ebert's review of "Jiro Dreams Of Sushi".)
In his eighth entry, written in April, 2013, Harshu writes about randomness and the influence chance has on our lives more than choice does. If there's one topic I couldn't agree more on, it is that. As a necessitarian, however, I believe that everything that happens in life is preordained. What may seem to us mortals as random or chance or, the worst, luck, our scripts, so to write, have already been written by the Almighty. What seems to us as an "accident", good or bad, happened exactly as it was meant to happen. Because we as humans do not have the view of the larger picture, we consider it as luck, when in fact it is our destiny. But I realize this can lead to a never-ending debate about determinism versus free will so I will let it be. Consider, however, all the events that needed to have occurred for Harshu to take the wrong exit, not least of which is the inception of the Super Bowl.
Harshu's fourth entry, written in March, 2012, mentions a very important truth of life: learning by doing. Of course, one does not always have the luxury of indulging in trial-and-error work, but a healthy balance of theoretical learning and practical doing is essential for succeeding in any field. When I started writing my first feature film screenplay in 2009, I had neither had any formal education in writing screenplays nor had I so much as dabbled in it. However, piggybacking off the previous paragraph, I was willing to invest time and effort in that activity to become good at it, and I was willing to learn by doing. Just as building a game in a programming language unfamiliar to him was satisfying to Harshu, so was finishing my first full-length screenplay satisfying to me. Once the initial interest and hunger to learn is there in a field, it is only a matter of time before Harshu, myself, or anybody else builds/creates/develops something that exceeds their own expectations. The concept of deliberate practice, advocated by Cal Newport, makes a lot of sense and it is something I will be adhering to henceforth.
His sixth entry, written in January, 2013, elaborates on his belief of being a craftsman. Of the three essentials he lists for progressing as a craftsman, I found the last one particularly key: "The tenacity to work hard through the not so interesting parts." How true! Although I partially disagree with Harshu that "you need to satisfy your work rather than rooting for some dream passion" (depends on the career one is engaged in and the career one wants to engage in; if both are the same, then there is no issue), I opine that once you have found, at the risk of being redundant, an activity you're willing to become better at, then "[s]atisfying the work that is given to you is a stepping stone towards building expertise and thus uncovering a deeper satisfaction of the work that you do." On the whole, in fact, this blogpost is so well-written, I want to provide a link to it right here. Great observations, my friend. (Check out Roger Ebert's review of "Jiro Dreams Of Sushi".)
In his eighth entry, written in April, 2013, Harshu writes about randomness and the influence chance has on our lives more than choice does. If there's one topic I couldn't agree more on, it is that. As a necessitarian, however, I believe that everything that happens in life is preordained. What may seem to us mortals as random or chance or, the worst, luck, our scripts, so to write, have already been written by the Almighty. What seems to us as an "accident", good or bad, happened exactly as it was meant to happen. Because we as humans do not have the view of the larger picture, we consider it as luck, when in fact it is our destiny. But I realize this can lead to a never-ending debate about determinism versus free will so I will let it be. Consider, however, all the events that needed to have occurred for Harshu to take the wrong exit, not least of which is the inception of the Super Bowl.
As I wrote in the opening paragraph, Harshu writes in a clean and unadorned manner. That, in no small measure, got me thinking of my own writing style. As someone who wants to make a career as a screenwriter, am I wont to employing "SAT words" where an easier word could have been equally effective? Using big words is fine, I suppose, but not if it is unnecessary. Using verbal legerdemain to make a statement easily comprehensible or, conversely, making complex sentence constructions for the sake of poetry and humor is not the same as being a literary show-off; all style, no substance. As a software writer, it is understandable that Harshu's prose is functional and within one's vocabulary range. But, nonetheless, it has me wondering, as an English-language writer, about the prudence of following a principle I learned as an undergraduate student: "keep it simple, stupid".
On the whole, much like my friendship with Harshu, I have found his blog greatly enlightening, and I look forward to getting a notification e-mail whenever he posts his next entry. Supreme work, buddy.
On the whole, much like my friendship with Harshu, I have found his blog greatly enlightening, and I look forward to getting a notification e-mail whenever he posts his next entry. Supreme work, buddy.
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