Wow. I'm floored by the attitudes expressed in many
people's diary entries. I'm beginning to think there's
enough disillusionment that a movement could be
started!
:-) (cf. dhd's diary).
What are we all in this occupation for, anyway? All of
the work I do goes towards making my company more
profitable, and to provide its customers a better product
(thereby making them more profitable). What is the end
result of this? A better business economy. But I'm
perfectly happy as I am now... I don't need a
better car, better residence, etc. What if I built
a cabin and hunted and fished
and gardened and maybe dabbled in other small jobs? I'd
have just as much fun as when coding (though I might still
pine for it; but I pine for the outdoor life now). This
applies to OSS, too. What, really, are we
accomplishing through what we develop?
I'm definitely not Luddite; I have no problem with
technology. In fact, I really love it. My question is more
rhetorical in nature; I'm hoping to encourage discussion
more than I am trying to make a statement: what does our
relentless pursuit of
technology gain me or anyone else? The
answer seems to be nothing that we do not have already. I
think what I'm realizing is that
maybe technology should be no more than a pastime,
at least for me.
Technology is a means more than an end. And right now, for
me, I think it's in definite danger of becoming an end.
Technology is good, but not intrinsically.
Health- and safety-improving
technology is good. And the ability
to travel, etc., etc. But
the overwhelming majority of us simply pursue nebulous
things like interoperability and
efficiency. Alas, all that pursuit still hasn't
brought us much closer to technology as a means:
ubiquitous computers disappearing
under the covers of everything and making our lives nice and
simple (a typical goal). What
do we
really gain from little things like one-click
shopping and real-time package tracking? (I'm speaking as a
non-shareholder here.)
Undoubtedly I'll be made to eat these words, despite my
painstaking editing. Understand this: these are currently
still-nebulous thoughts bouncing in my mind for which I'd
like to hear others' opinions. This is not some sort of
grand sociological or political statement.