Why I love engineers, accepting tradeoffs, and good enough is good enough.
My Spirit Animal is an Engineer
If everything is perfect, 100%,
My Engineering Prof
then something has gone wrong.
I’m taking a class on Machine Learning Engineering with a real-life engineer — not your everyday academic, but a real engineer with a real job, dealing with real issues everyday. I love it; it reminds me of why I love engineers.
Over and over, my prof bangs on about practical reality and good enough. There’s an instant distrust of anything that claims to be 100% — even 99% is unusual. 74% — a grade that’d get you a Singaporean fail, e.g. not an A — might be good enough.
There’s always a tradeoff, always a cost, he says. touka koukan; equivalent exchange. What will you give up in order to get what you want?
I admire the philosophy of engineers. Stark acceptance of reality, coupled with clear vision of the problem and constraints. There’s a serenity about accepting the difficulty, embracing the complexity of the problem, but also having the willingness to try to be so damned smart, so damn ingenious to come up with tricks to defy the laws of gravity. Suspension bridges that stand for hundreds of years, skyscrapers that reach beyond the tolerance of metal, even simple ideas to make processes run smoother.
There’s an optimism in the philosophy of engineering; a zenlike acceptance of reality and imperfect solutions’ this is the problem, how do we solve it, how do we make the best of the cards we’re dealt, and maybe be a little clever while doing it?
It’s the philosophy I’d like to live by.
Opportunity Costs
I have a lot of school and class, and it means giving up on a lot of things. I missed out on an opportunity to get closer with the Lindy community and do a lot of dancing; it seems like I might be missing out on a fun trip to Thailand with the local dance peeps as well.
I say often that I’m lucky to get a second chance — few people even get to get their first chance — and I’m going to make the most of it. Maximum effort, plus ultra, I’m going to do my best in class. I even wrote a quip — anyone interested in me has to be okay with having a threesome: her, me, and my Master’s.
So be it. I am a man of my word, I have agency, and I choose; I choose. I chose this path, and by Gauss I’m sticking to it.
But, I’m not above some applied ingenuity to see where I can slack off.
Good Enough is Good Enough
I nearly retired from Improv this year.
I made my peace with it, planned out my final performance, and cleared my calendar.
I used to fly around the world (well, Southeast Asia) to perform. I was secretly proud at how skilled my team was. I managed them to make a stupid amount of money doing corporate gigs — at least, stupid enough that we made more than almost all other groups.
And then — COVID. And then — nothing. And then — feeling like my relevance was gone, and it was the end of the road.
And then, well, someone suggested I do something small, just to see what could happen.
If you want to stay in Improv,
Random kind person
you will
She was right. I showed up for a small jam; then another, and now I have a show lined up in the future.
It’s not a permanent group of found family friends; it’s not a regular performing gig; it’s not anything …yet, and it might not become anything.
So be it. Good enough to perform for another 2 gigs, unexpectedly. It’s a blessing.
Good enough is good enough.