I had a chance to do a Q&A session with students from my alma mater high school, last week. Understandably, many asked about how they can boost their confidence when their peers seem to achieve so many things effortlessly.
A few years ago, I would have answered that there are also many people their age that cannot do what they do. So they shouldn’t feel so threatened. But now, I have a different answer.
It’s a losing battle to compare myself to anyone. There will always be anyone who seems to have a more successful career, have more friends, or overall have a happier life. We have to establish self-worth only from within ourselves, or else it sits on a shaky foundation. My ego still shrinks a little whenever I read about a success story, but I keep my head high as I am happy with my life.
Software Engineering ⚙️
The Concise TypeScript Book
The hardest aspect of TypeScript for me is its terminology. When I need to describe a behavior or look for reference material, I am often at a loss. That’s why I enjoy skimming through books like this to refresh my memory. If you want to understand TypeScript’s type-checking better, I recommend reading the chapter Exploring the Type System.
Decentralizing Social Interactions with ActivityPub
Meta’s Threads plans to adopt the decentralized social networking protocol called ActivityPub, so I wanted to understand how the protocol worked. It basically is a pub-sub system that enables a user of one app to send messages to a user of another app without anyone leaving their apps.
People ❤️
On Becoming a VP of Engineering
I always appreciate the thoughtful materials coming out of Honeycomb. This one from their VP of Engineering is no different. It talks about how she became a VP of engineering, what she thinks of her responsibilities, and how she has adjusted to her role.
Alignment > Autonomy
I am 100% behind the idea that “it’s easier to measure and feel high autonomy than it is to measure high alignment.” Even at Netflix, where “highly aligned, loosely coupled” is preached, we experienced some failure cases where individual product teams prioritized autonomy and built for their short-term gains. That was because bad alignment takes a long time to take its toll, and by that time, those who made those lousy trade-offs have already moved on and won’t face the accountability.
Fresh Work 80/15/5
Two beliefs I always share with my team are that we are paid so much for our judgment, so we need to use them, and that our skills depreciate over time, so we need to keep learning. The time split the author suggests is a good way to act on the beliefs: 80% to do the expected work, 15% to do the exploratory work, and 5% to fulfill curiosity.
Business 💰
Microsoft wins FTC fight to buy Activision Blizzard
A year and a half after the acquisition announcement, the acquisition is finally in sight as the UK regulatory body is also open to approving the deal. I look forward to how Blizzard will be transformed after the acquisition.
youngk.im 