From: Adam A.G. Shamblin Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2019 04:41:30 +0000 (-0600) Subject: New article, minor config tweak, start to document development process X-Git-Url: https://git.vexinglabs.com/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=b1fcb0e551070f7199e86955a9e2642a5760b50d;p=letters.git New article, minor config tweak, start to document development process --- diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index dadc35e..672ccb4 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -12,3 +12,9 @@ The theme is derived from the default 'notmyidea' theme that ships with Pelican. All content on this site, unless otherwise specified, is licenced under a [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) + +## Developing Locally + +```shell +pelican -r --listen content +``` diff --git a/content/mastery_and_authenticity.rst b/content/mastery_and_authenticity.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2aa6a3e --- /dev/null +++ b/content/mastery_and_authenticity.rst @@ -0,0 +1,84 @@ +Mastery and Authenticity +######################## + +:date: 2019-04-18 +:tags: thoughts, work, craft +:slug: mastery-and-authenticity + +When I was around middle-school age, I wanted to be a skateboarder. Thrasher +magazine was all the rage and some of the coolest people I knew at school rode +skateboards and wore just the best graphic tshirts and these amazing shoes that +I never could convince my parents to buy for me. I was obsessed with the art and +the music that surrounded skating. I could draw well enough, so I would cover my +notebooks with sketches of company logos and board designs. I don't remember +ever having the magazines, but I'd borrow them from friends and I'd try to find +out everything I could about pro skaters. + +Thing is, I never really learned to skate. My parents were supportive, but there +was no way I was going to get a Santa Cruz or Powell Peralta - my preferred +brands would change weekly - so I made due with a Valterra from the local +department store and a pair of knock-off Chuck Taylors. I could ride my board, +but I never really learned tricks and I didn't get *near* a ramp until many +years later. As much as I loved the sport, it didn't love me back, and the kids +I wanted to much to be like tagged me with the most horrific of labels: +**Poseur**. + +There's a Problem +----------------- + +I have often said that I suffer from a terminal case of Impostor Syndrome. If, +for some reason you have not heard of this afflicion, (and consider yourself +blessed if you haven't) it is a potentially debilitating crisis of confidence +that is all too common among knowledge workers. As an engineer, I have been +familiar with this disease for quite a long time. It is spoken of at nearly +every developer and hacker conference I attend, and it is becoming a common +topic of conversation in similar circles. My wife, a Registered Nurse - +certainly among the knowledge worker professions - was less familiar with the +term but all too aware of its implications as she, too, has suffered. + +At its heart, Impostor Syndrome is a nagging sense of self-doubt. As I have +observed, in myself as well as in others, this is often in spite of overwhelming +evidence to the contrary. Objectively I know that I have had a long and +successful career. I have a decent reputation and the respect of my peers. But +there is part of me that is never really convinced. I mean, I've never published +any books or gone on any speaking tours. I don't work for any of the top tech +companies, and my name is not reknowned for originating any algorithm or open +source masterpiece. None of these things is required to be a good, even +excellent engineer, but it is so easy to tear one's self down over it. It's like +somewhere in the back of my head is still some shitty thirteen-year-old skater +kid calling me a poseur. + +There is something, though, that I feel I and many of the other Impostor +Syndrome sufferers I've encountered have in common, and that is integrity. This +is one trait in which I have confidence and it is in this that I find the silver +lining in what is otherwise a pretty dark cloud. + +Let's Look at it Another Way +---------------------------- + +Here is where I humble-brag this flaw into a virtue. + +Suburban childhood trauma aside, I believe Impostor Syndrome stems from a +longing for two noble traits: **Mastery** and **Authenticity**. As engineers we +are driven by curiousity and the thrill that comes from having overcome a +challenge. What we do is difficult and our skills are hard won. Each +accomplishment paves the way to the next, and in a field that is forever growing +and changing, the road stretches long in front of us. This is a quest for +**Mastery**, and it is good. + +But it's not enough to simply learn a new language or a new tool, we want to use +it well and too its full effect. How deeply we understand *vi* or *bash* matters +to us. We seek genuine, deep and meaningful knowledge and we are willing to work +day and night to achieve it. This is the desire for **Authenticity**, and it, +too, is good. + +Mastery and Authenticity, like any virtues, are easier to see in others than in +ourselves. I'm constantly reading blog posts and tweets, and watching YouTube +videos of my fellow engineers who have built amazing things. It seems like they +are all friends having the best time and *it drives me crazy!* Thing is, these +same folks are themselves suffering from the same self doubt. More and more +people in our field are sharing their own experiences, whether writing articles +or preparing to speak at meetups and conferences, and we learn that we're all +struggling through it, even the glamourous ones. + +Because we want it to be good. diff --git a/pelicanconf.py b/pelicanconf.py index 74d3844..dce766b 100644 --- a/pelicanconf.py +++ b/pelicanconf.py @@ -40,4 +40,4 @@ SOCIAL = (('GitHub', 'https://github.com/coyote240'), DEFAULT_PAGINATION = 10 # Uncomment following line if you want document-relative URLs when developing -# RELATIVE_URLS = True +RELATIVE_URLS = True