The title sounds strange, isn't it? Few days back I read an article about it. the author was of the view that like any creation a software also represents personality of the creator. To me,it sounds a bit hard to digest.A software, after all is a piece of logic which satisfies any particular requirement in the best possible way. once the requirement is fixed, the 'best' logic of fulfilling it is obviously fixed. that piece of logic can represent its thinker does not fit in.
But when I pondered over the matter I began to realize the concept. first of all the key factor is requirement. working in a typical Indian software company, I'm used to get requirements like a ready meal. but if you are going to develop a software as a product, understanding requirement is the toughest part. you must fit yourself in the shoes of end user, which is not a cake walk. you should understand their lingo, their concepts, their average intelligence, and above all their style of working. A software as a product must assist user in whatever (s)he does without it. it should not change the working style in any significant manner. at the same time the software provides its user with a new lingo. before the invention of orkut, scrap was a synonym to junk.
the best example of this representation can be the MAC OS. Steve jobs, the founder of MAC said he gave all the beautiful looks to MAC because he learned calligraphy in his college days.apart from such clear ways like looks etc. there are other even subtle factors in software which represent the creator. e.g. a strongly logical person may build a software which works fine but does not have a good look and feel. another might build an average software which is balanced on all factors but extra- ordinary in none. even the variable names given can throw some light on the creator's nature.
but once we accept this,we can instantly say that we give quite a lot of unnecessary importance to software. a software, for example can perform billion-trillion operations in no time but it can not invent a new operation. it can calculate distance of all galaxies, if provided with required inputs but it can't infer anything from it. in short a software can imitate humans, but can not replace them.
something on life
recently I saw a new movie 'gods must be crazy' . it is about, well nothing in particular. it's really hard to tell it's story & yet it reveals the limit of our understanding.
in our daily routine we do many things. we follow various customs & practices, some from our culture, some from our profession.but most of the times we follow them rather mechanically. getting my point? let me elaborate.when we say, for example, 'good morning' to anyone, most probably we say it as a habit. or in worst case just to impress others. I don't think many of us really, wholeheartedly wish a 'good morning' to anyone. & it's not simple to do so. we have so many things running in our head, that we seldom pay attention to what we are doing.
It's like we are running blindfolded. we think that we are going in right direction & we take necessary steps to avoid collision with any obstacle. in fact our situation is not so different from a gamer stuck in some virtual game. at times we hear voices which we know are not from the game.and they are really tempting. but we don't go after them. we convince ourselves that these are distractions & we need to achieve our mission in the game.
in the movie, there is one tribal villager whose children accidentally boarded on a hunter's truck. he's running in search of them following the track of the truck & yet in the way he helps all the people that he meets. & that too when he knows none of them. in fact he is not able to talk with anyone of them & yet he understands that they need help & readily provides it.
I know this might sound like a fairy tell with a hero on completion of one mission & helping everyone on the way.... but it's not exactly like that. his journey tells us to dwell at every moment of life. it tells us that it is not the goal but the journey towards it is what enriches us.
in our daily routine we do many things. we follow various customs & practices, some from our culture, some from our profession.but most of the times we follow them rather mechanically. getting my point? let me elaborate.when we say, for example, 'good morning' to anyone, most probably we say it as a habit. or in worst case just to impress others. I don't think many of us really, wholeheartedly wish a 'good morning' to anyone. & it's not simple to do so. we have so many things running in our head, that we seldom pay attention to what we are doing.
It's like we are running blindfolded. we think that we are going in right direction & we take necessary steps to avoid collision with any obstacle. in fact our situation is not so different from a gamer stuck in some virtual game. at times we hear voices which we know are not from the game.and they are really tempting. but we don't go after them. we convince ourselves that these are distractions & we need to achieve our mission in the game.
in the movie, there is one tribal villager whose children accidentally boarded on a hunter's truck. he's running in search of them following the track of the truck & yet in the way he helps all the people that he meets. & that too when he knows none of them. in fact he is not able to talk with anyone of them & yet he understands that they need help & readily provides it.
I know this might sound like a fairy tell with a hero on completion of one mission & helping everyone on the way.... but it's not exactly like that. his journey tells us to dwell at every moment of life. it tells us that it is not the goal but the journey towards it is what enriches us.
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