Deep in the digital files on the servers at the Kirsten Wind Tunnel (the aerodynamic test facility where I worked in college), there were a number of jokes and silly pictures, but also tidbits of humorous wisdom.
There’s one that’s stuck with me to this day and pops into my brain almost on a daily basis. Unfortunately now that I’m thinking about it the first sentence is fuzzy, but it was something about needing to be mindful whenever you’re coding something or working with software.
You see, computers are smart, but they’re also very literal thinkers. You can believe you’re telling it to do something, have a certain interpretation in mind…and the computer will just snicker at you and do what you’ve told it.
Exactly what you’ve told it.
And when you finally find that one setting or line that’s responsible for whatever the hell the computer is doing, all you can do is kick yourself and chuckle.
No lessons here. Just a reminder that computers are excellent order-takers—for better or worse.