As I sat with a friend and colleague the other night I asked him if he had read a particular book. He told me that it had been months or longer since he read a non-technical manual of any sort, and it got me thinking.
Now it should be noted that this friend is a very successful, well-adjusted guy. He is married with children, and seems extremely satisfied with his lot in life. This article is not about him.
Like many of my generation I took an interest in computers. At the time and throughout my adolescence I suspect that my interest bordered on fanatical. I do not recall doing too many things that were not computer-related until I tried out for the basketball team in Secondary Five (That’s Grade Eleven to the rest of you).
My friends were into computers; when we got together we would talk about computers, program computers, or play computer games. When I got my first modem I was even able to socialize through the computer. How many people picked on me? How many people were just like me? The answer to both questions is: more than you would probably suspect.
When I moved overseas I vowed to get out of computers, and for a while I did. (Spoiler: At the end of this movie I end up back in computers) I lived on a kibbutz, but when it was time to leave that sanctuary I found myself working as a software analyst. I joined the army, and towards the end of my service I landed on a base where I was the only person who knew how to work the computers, as well as keep them working. I moved back to Canada and as hard as I tried, I kept ending up back in computers.
And then I noticed a change. Computers were everywhere, and they were no longer taboo. I saw people earning a living in the field who were not wearing pocket protectors, and who did not go home at night and play video games (okay, well there are some of those!). I started seeing people like myself, normal people with normal interests, who happened to be extremely technically competent.
If I look at my friend from the first paragraphs I could easily see one of the cool kids in high school... he reminds me of Brian Hershenfield. Brian was the smartest kid in our class, well kept, polite, successful, highly gifted, and was neither a bully nor bullied. He is probably a neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins today with a supermodel wife with two Oscars and a Nobel Prize. How did this friend end up in the IT field?
My question can now shift to ‘what did Brian know that the rest of us did not?’ I think the answer is the same. In a word, Balance.
Balance is what separates the genius from the eccentric. It keeps us sane, it makes us whole. Have you ever played Trivial Pursuit with the smartest person you know, only to find out he stinks at four of the six categories? What about a rocket scientist who cannot carry on a conversation about anything other than rocket science? Balance is the key.
I do not know when it was that I realized the importance of balance, but I do know that when I think back on my life I can identify the times when I had it and those when I did not. You can generally plot the same graph with the times I was happiest and most successful. Try it out on yourself; you may be surprised to see that I am right! Now if you will excuse me, I am going to turn off the computer for the evening, go for a swim, and then read a good book. I’ll see you tomorrow!