Cerulean Cordillera

Posts Tagged ‘Mind’

Originally posted on Saturday, January 24, 2009

Let’s do a quick reassessment of my life and goals.

Let’s start with an Assumption: I want to study hard, understand everything, and become a great engineer

Question: If I understand everything, will I become a great engineer? How great will I be?

More importantly, does it take understanding everything to become a great engineer? Will, say… understanding everything in Newtonian dynamics (a first year course outside of my specialization) be necessary for me to become a great engineer?

Answer: No. So let’s revise the assumption:

Assumption: I want to study hard, understand all that is relevant, and become a great engineer.

Of course, a great engineer, for me, would be a computer engineer who takes active and important roles in the development of projects that are both amazing and significant. So, what does all that is relevant consist of when it comes to this definition?

• I will need to know programming languages and have hardware skills
• I will need to know the design processes in practice for all such projects
• I will need to know how to create and use mathematical models for various systems and algorithms
• I will need a detailed understanding of computing concepts and computer architecture
• I will need experience and knowledge of the current state-of-the-art and market conditions for such projects
• I will need to be able to notice and pertain my performance to the strengths and weaknesses of my teammates
• I will need to be appropriately social depending on the situation
• I will need to be able to mentally perceive and play around with the whole picture of the project
• I will need to have my goals set and tasks organized
• I will need to be relatively fit in order to generate enough energy for these efforts

Ah, that’s a good list. We will work with this list from now on. This list contains items that must be met before I can say that I have all the qualities it takes to become a potential great engineer. If I am a great engineer, I will already have these qualities. If I have these qualities, I may not yet be a great engineer if I have not generated results. First, acquire these bullet points, next, apply them in real-world projects, and if both succeeds, then maybe I can call myself a great engineer.

Some bullet points come from understanding things in my classes. For example, knowledge of computer architecture may be obtained easily simply by learning concepts from classes. Currently, three of my four classes directly belong in this category: computer hardware, operating systems, and engineering economics. The fourth, dynamic systems and control, is not with the area of my specialization, and I am only taking it because of breadth requirements, so therefore I only need a semi-decent mark in that course. How much I learn from the course will not matter.

The three courses, however, must be treated with a serious attitude. I will expect A-grades from those three courses, and I will expect deep understanding of those course material after the course is finished.

Back to the list. Some other bullet points comes from merely experience. For example, programming language skills can only come from writing code for projects. I can choose to write code like mad to gain experience, but that is not an efficient method and will not work very well for me. Therefore, I will merely expose myself to opportunities to train up such skills, and that is all.

Others, such as organization skills, only takes small but constant effort. I am already persevering on many of these things. For example, I create and follow my daily schedule using Mozilla Sunbird. Past experience with establishing these habits tells me that attacking it head-on with willpower is not a good solution. Instead, what worked was the strategy of trying to naturally integrate these habits into everyday life, a small chunk at a time. This process will certainly continue, as it has been ongoing since years ago.

And that’s that.

Now, engineering isn’t the only part of life. So let us now focus on the other stuff. The goal is to integrate myself into a lifestyle with meaning, which I am constantly trying to do. The following are conclusions drawn from past mistakes:

Learning Does Not Equal Meaning: Let’s face it, not all knowledge is valuable. For knowledge to be valuable to me, they must have qualities that I deem to be valuable. For instance, useful knowledge is valuable, so are certain knowledge that I enjoy learning despite its lack of utility. It is foolish to learn for the sake of learning. If I learn something, then it should be something I want to learn. I will not let my principles to drive my desires, for that is unnatural. I will have my desires drive my principles, for then I will be true to myself. For instance, I do not follow duty because my principles tell me that duty must be followed, instead, I follow duty because I would feel guilty, or frustrate at the inefficiency I would cause, otherwise.

Trust Neither The Mind Alone Nor The Heart Alone: Mind is the source of conscious thoughts and willpower. Heart is the (poetic) source of unconscious desires and feelings. Obviously, each keeps the other in check, and a healthy balance is thus achieved. I will not reach any desired states if I rely only on rational thinking or if I rely only on following emotions. At the moment, my belief is that a wholesome and autonomous life is only possible when I trust in both and passively – but consciously – acknowledge my body’s efforts to achieve such balance.

Remember The Ultimate Big Picture: I strive for nothing for its own sake. Instead, all that I strive for I do so because they will contribute to my happiness, which will feed my unconscious, irrational desire to be happy. This is true of all human beings whether they admit it or not. Openly admitting this creates a more solid practical foundation for my principles and way of life. This is not a morally inferior view of the world for I do not acknowledge any such absolute moral standard that can be used to reach such a conclusion. Arbitrary principles without ground in irrational desires will only serve to confuse the hell out of us and make us do things that we have no idea why we’re doing.

The strategy for life, then, is to simply put effort into things that I am interested in or that I find to be meaningful on an unconscious, irrational level. For example, I would never apply for a job position unless the job itself interests me. The amount of effort I spend on these things is obviously naturally influenced by how interesting or meaningful such things appear to me. However, putting extra effort is always a good idea because it would obviously increase the chances of success and make wasted efforts less likely.

That makes things pretty clear, lol. Happy Chinese New Year everyone!