So wild! Such a surprise to find this on the front page of Hacker News. If it weren't for the author's username, I might have missed this gem.
I had worked at Edenworks as a software engineer for a few years, alongside Johnny. I don't pretend to know enough to speak on manufacturing itself, but Johnny's remarks on software development are spot-on.
When I had come onboard, I had naively suspected a typical software startup experience; rampant technophilia with an obsession for integrating the freshest software technologies. If 'Software is King' is true everywhere else, why shouldn't it be true here?
Edenworks is not a software startup, however, and it's important to realize that. Manufacturing is an entirely different beast, which makes steady, deliberate movements (i.e. it doesn't move fast, and it shouldn't break things). When the main product being developed is a tangible system, redos are way more costly.
Adding flashy software features does not expedite this; lashing the latest and greatest Javascript library onto the fronted does not add value... not reliable value anyways.
When it comes to developing a manufacturing process, software should be flexible and let the process demands come first. The typical workload is more concerned with running test trials than hacking up something new.
For me, this realization was more emotional than organizational - sometimes you have to curb your hype. To add real value to the product, I had to watch my ego. In a manufacturing company, the Process is King.
When the main product being developed is a tangible system, redos are way more costly.
Even when primarily doing software, this can come into play.
I know of a customer who had about 5000 card readers in an access control system, where bugs in the card reader firmware required a firmware update. Doing this required walking to a reader, unmounting it from the wall, updating the firmware, re-mounting the reader. Rinse and repeat 5000 times.
A rough estimate is that upgrading all the readers on the site took about a man-year of technicians walking around updating things. Let's just say that when more bugs were discovered, the customer who paid for it all was less than pleased…
Lesson learned: always make secure remote firmware updates possible on your devices.
Software IS special. Compared to hardware, software is (usually) so easy to update that it's (usually) cost effective to not do it right the first time. NASA etc is different, and they work differently.
Everyone knows this and act accordingly - which is why we have to live with ever changing requirements for projects.
This is only because the electrical and mechanical engineering realms have been resistant to change. There are rapid prototyping techniques that can be used to improve the hardware side, and so much of the latest systems are built largely in software anyway. There are still hardware shops debating whether or not source control is a good idea, "we tried CVS once, it didn't work."
The quality of a system is a direct function of the speed of the testing cycle. To argue "slow, methodical, reasoning" is to argue against quality.
I would actually like to know if you had dosed this morning. This is a rather lengthy narrative! If you had(not) dosed this morning, how would you have written this differently?
Thanks for giving your two-cents and personal experience. Most of my friends, myself included, use amphetamines for recreational purposes. There's been a vague understanding that it works differently for people with ADHD, though I've never personally heard such a detailed testimony.
It sounds like your son is lucky to have you and your wife as parents. Bless you and your family!
No, I had not taken anything when I wrote that rambling epistle. What you're seeing is a first draft, and since I had to get moving, I had to leave it as such.
Recall that I knew how to concentrate before the meds, it just took a lot more energy. I am naturally at my highest mental energy level in the morning.
Also, those who know me will attest that my default writing style is pretty long-winded and uh..dubiously organized.
If I had gone back to edit it this morning, the wall o' text would have gotten about 1/3 shorter.
Regarding recreational use: I cast neither dispersions or judgments on anyone. Speaking for myself, I can't imagine adderall being a recreational drug. For me, it's not a particularly fun feeling, though it helps me accomplish high-focus tasks, and that feels good.
And just to be clear: our son gives our lives purpose and meaning. Truly he is the purest blessing to us.
> I would actually like to know if you had dosed this morning.
I'm curious as well. I've come to use long (but informative) rambles as an ad-hoc indicator of the kind of executive function deficit typical of ADHD. Folks who can write short, crystal-clear, on-point emails are unlikely to be (untreated) ADHD.
I always notice when I've written some long reply to a comment chain and thing "oh, right. Meds kicked in." As a kid, before I was diagnosed (parents didn't "believe" in ADHD) I'd have trouble staying on one train of thought for more than 10-15 minutes and my schoolwork suffered accordingly. Now, while I've got my dosage to a point where I don't feel overly stimulated but can focus, I'm able to actually do things.
I still need to put in the effort to do something difficult or boring (like just about anyone) and I do still feel a mild coffee-like perk up when I take my Adderall and it kicks in. But otherwise, it's a relatively mild tweak that I personally find to offer more benefits than drawbacks for the time being.
Your statement seems to imply that the loudest, and most controversial, members make it terrible for EVERYONE inside the community.
That is not the case in 4chan. There are a large number, if not a majority, of boards which have healthy, constructive cultures and are extremely helpful for hobbyists and enthusiasts.
So, if it's not terrible for everyone, then it's not a problem---as long as it's not terrible for you. Maybe, perhaps, this would work if the terrible people kept to themselves, but this is rarely the case. I was a regular poster on /mu/ for several years, but once the /pol/ users started trashing the board up, it's been a shell of its former self. And, again, that's just within 4chan. The worst things are what 4chan's community have done outside of the site. See also: GamerGate.
