Monday, March 31, 2014

Life, the universe and everything

Hi all,

I have had been aiming to write the current blog post for quite a long time now. I was recently asked to write up something on placement techniques and how to prepare for placements. I thought of writing this post NOT as a placement help blog post but as a post I have been meaning to write for some time now.

Please note that the current blog post isnt directly what you expect for placement help, but will help you in getting you a job if you do try to make an effort and follow your heart. Also, the blog shall require patience to read and follow. Please bear with me.

The title of the post refers to a famous programming problem with the same name. It also encompasses the spirit of this post. This post encompasses what a major part of my world constitutes of.

I shall start with a small story. Circa 2010, a nerdy boy was sweating it out because he was bad at programming. He couldnt do a problem to print star pattern or anything simple. Hell, he couldnt even figure out simple problems that involved brute force technique. His parents are quite accomplished programmers (they had two startups under their belts which they had done 14 and 17 years ago). As a student of first year in B.Tech Information Technology, he had no idea where he was heading.

His mom sat down with him and taught him some basics. She showed him how to think and approach problems. The boy started with the star pattern, then developed an interest. He tried solving more problems, gained more interest, solved more problems, learnt more, tried more and went along.

Fast forward to today, the boy is writing to you through this post. I am no big star or something, but there is one accomplishment I am proud of. I am an obsessed learner now, and my hunger grows everyday.

What drives me to work in office, come back and work in PostgreSQL? What drives me to take books and read them whenever I can? What drives me to discover, explore, invent, have fun?

The feeling of love. The feeling of joy. The feeling of ownership. The sense of accomplishment when building something. The feeling of constant learning.

This is what I want to share today. I know its a pretty cliché thing I am telling.

There is learning where there is love. Do not aspire for a job where you are not in the domain which you love.

If you are reading till here, I think that you love what you do and think that this is where you should be.

The next thing is what to do when you know you love this. Technical advice:

1) Read as much as you can. Read Cormen, The Algorithm Design Manual, Tardos, Sedgewick, Sahni, Trembley and Sorenson. Pick out specific topics from each and read.

2) Practise. Solve any problem that comes in your way. The thing is that you have to think of different approaches for each problem and not stay on one solution. Also, try to optimize your solution. For optimizing your solution you have to identify the areas where your solution is slow. Break down your problem and solution into tangible components and try to optimize them each and also try to see how the multiple components interact with each other.

3) Think about the problem. Do NOT start solving on the first step. Think and re read the problem. List the input and output and then see if there is anything you can see, a pattern or anything.

In the end its all about what you feel is the right way for your brain to engulf the problem and give a solution workable and good. The level of goodness depends on your gut.

Above all, it all boils down to one thing. It is to have fun. You have to have fun in order to do anything sane and last long enough to make an impact in any field.

If you feel that the work you are doing completes you, if you feel what you are striving for is worth it, and if you feel you can stick to it, you shall find the way which is correct for yourself.

Be open, have an open mind, debate and  take a stand for what you think is correct. Listen to your instinct, it knows the solution to the problem you are trying to solve.

For more information on something relevant read the following:

http://norvig.com/21-days.html

This is the best post about our trade I have ever read. I hope you find it useful.

Peace,

Atri