54 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
54 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
---
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layout: post
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title: Words are important
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tags:
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- opinion
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- scribd
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---
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The first bits I transmitted on the internet were sent through a modem on the
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end of a old-fashioned copper telephone wire. While I didn't recognize the
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complexity at the time, its ingenuity still impresses me. An analog-only
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medium, the copper wire, could be made to transmit ideas via specially encoded
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chirps, squeaks, and chimes, to nearly any other destination connected to the
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web. At their most basic, words are a truly astounding mechanism for encoding
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and transmitting ideas from one brain to another. Without language, the rest
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of this wouldn't be possible. Ideas alone are worthless, ideas *in transit*
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are incredibly powerful.
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Today I start something new. I am joining [Scribd](https://scribd.com),
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an organization for whom the written word and its value, is central to the
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business.
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When I started my last job at [CloudBees](https://cloudbees.com), I joined as
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an Evangelist and had to re-learn some of my lost appreciation for
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spoken and written communication skills. As a result, I was re-introduced to
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the power of descriptive, concise, and structured language. Eventually
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returning to the Engineering side of the house, with my newfound respect for
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words, I was surprised to see just how poorly we communicate with one another.
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From the outside looking in, it is incredible how adept many developers can be,
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wielding numerous programming languages at once. Always finding the "most
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suitable tool for the job" while consistently failing to utilize their most
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obviously important language: written and spoken English.
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---
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Before computers, and I am right on a generational divide to where I can
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remember "before computers," I consumed books, wrote stories, and was fortunate
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to develop a rich inner mental space. That mental space later adapted, became a useful
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backdrop for software development. It provided me with the necessary tools to
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construct hypothetical designs, run them, and evaluate their performance.
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Language is what weaves together our past, ideas from others, and new
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observations, providing the necessary raw material for fresh and interesting
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solutions to the problems we face.
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I am excited to have the opportunity at Scribd to draw on much of my recent
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years of experience along with that of my colleagues, to build a platform
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engineering team, among the first fully remote in the company. I'm looking
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forward to helping everybody read words and learn _more_!
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