Even though I have been in the "tech" industry for over three decades, before I talk about technology and how I think about it, I want to be very clear about something.
I am not a Techno-Optimist. I do not believe technology is the solution to everything.
In fact, I think we are long past the point where certain technologies have become problems themselves.
Based on my own experiences, observations, and knowledge, I strongly believe there are technologies - and ways of thinking about technology itself - that pose very real threats to the underlying fabric of entire societies.
It's not all bad, of course, but we are going through a super weird period in time with so many people all yell-y and scream-y and hype-y all the time, constantly having our attention fought over, with a bunch of bros trying to sell and / or steal all the things within inches of our humanity...
So, yeah, it's not all great, either. But it's the world we find ourselves in, so we need to find ourselves out of the various crises and own-goals we've sleepwalked our way into.
Everything in its Right Place
First things first, I know when I say "technology" many people immediately think of specific, tangible technologies such as their "smart" phones, or the apps on those phones.
That's not what technology is. To me, at least.
Yes, I understand that smart phones and applications are "technologies" in themselves, and no, I am not being pedantic here.
If we think about technology in a broader sense as any knowledge, or methods, or tools that we can apply to enhance our capabilities as humans, and to solve very human problems that we all face, them we find that the term, in fact, casts an extremely wide net.
The tendency to focus on specific technologies is a natural response to the always-on hype machine of the modern world, but there are things that we use - day in, and day out - that are absolutely considered to be "technology" even though they may not have a screen or keyboard attached to them.
So let's step inside from the constant hype raining down on us, calm down and wipe the residue off, and over a nice hot cup of sensibility and pragmatism we can think about how we can put technology to work for us, as humans, and figure out ways we can apply them to making things better today, for everyone.
Technologic. Technologic. Technologic. Technologic.
Buy it, use it, break it, fix it, trash it, change it, mail, upgrade it. Charge it, point it, zoom it, press it, snap it, work it, quick, erase it. Write it, cut it, paste it, save it, load it, check it, quick, rewrite it. Plug it, play it, burn it, rip it, drag it, drop it, zip, unzip it.
Daft Punk “Technologic” (2005)
Since I already cover many classical technology patterns, styles, and architectures under the banner of the Architect Thinking pillar of my knowledge ontology, the focus of Technology Thinking is more on how we can solve large scale human problems with classical, contemporary or emerging technologies.
I also include broad-stroke topics for InfoSec, technology delivery, and software development, as I believe these cross-cut both individual technologies and broader technical architecture concepts.
This is how I am currently structuring Technology Thinking:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) - Have you heard about this AI stuff yet? It's going to be YUGE.
- Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) - This is a topic near and dear to my heart because it's at the intersection of human thinking and technology - not only how we interact with technology and systems...but why? What are we offering to the users of our systems in exchange for the value of the knowledge and decision making skills they offer? What types of interactions exist beyond classical user interfaces (UI), screens, and keyboards?
- Information Security (InfoSec) - Admittedly, InfoSec might be the weakest domain of my technical knowledge (just behind "vibe coding"). So in terms of my own meta-cognition, this is an area that I will need help getting up to speed on, so I will be using my knowledge ontology as a foundation to start from.
- Infrastructure and Distributed Computing - My career in technology architecture started on the infrastructure side of the house, and even though I don't spend much time there anymore, I still like to keep up with patterns and trends in the foundational elements of Information Technology so that I can continue to think about them as part of a holistic view of modern enterprises in the digital age.
- Quantum Computing - I am downright obsessed with quantum mechanics, and my curiosity in the subject started with learning how quantum computers worked at an IBM event. Admittedly I am more interested in the mechanical and physical aspects of quantum, but I am keeping my eye on advancements in the computing aspect to see how and where it is being applied effectively.
- Software Development - My software development days may be behind me at this point, but that doesn't mean I can let my knowledge of the structures and flows of software development decay, as I still need to know how the stuff I design is built, implemented, and operated. Software development and programming was never my love, but I did love learning how to create entirely new applications from the ground up, starting with just an idea or problem to be solved.
- Technology Delivery - The dark art of delivering software, applications, and technology systems to users and customers. We make it way harder than it needs to be most of the time, and for reasons I'll never understand we somehow find a way to turn every conversations about delivery into some dumb argument over Agile.
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