After telling fellow students at ITP about the classes I decided to sign up for the coming Spring semester, I have often been asked the following two questions:
1. "Why are you taking programming centric classes if that is already one of your strengths?"
2. "Why aren't you taking any physical computer related classes?"
The answer to the first one is rather concise; I feel that staying constantly involved in software and mathematics allows me to build myself as a better overall problem-solver on both an analytical and creative basis. Writing code to solve a problem is concurrently a step-by-step breakdown of the problem itself; patterns emerge and reveal themselves, woven with systems of varying elegance and complexity. Understanding concepts which reveal such harmony will endure far past simply designing the next iPhone - leading me to the answer to the second question:
My position on physical computing at it pertains to projects at ITP (and in general) is that the development of devices which we physically interact with is inevitably obsolete. This is the century of biology - and consequently, biological micro-interfacing will be the future of device technology. Increased ubiquity leading to result/reward has nearly always been the trend in tool advancements - computing is to exist behind a curtain whenever possible. While it is certainly a valid venture to develop large-scale projects involving common electronics and so forth - I personally have little interest in pursuing similar implementation methods.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
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