Hospital thoughts
I had to spend the night in the hospital last night with a close family. Thankfully, everyone's ok! They were discharged today, with no major issues.
Whenever I'm at a hospital, I'm reminded of what an incredible force for good computing can be. None of the tools in the hospital room would work without modern computing: the thermometer, the blood oxygen monitors, the blood pressure monitor, the instant access to digital medical records on a workstation, the ultrasound machine. None of these tools would be possible without integrated circuits and computer science. Not even the hospital bed, with its electric motors and servos, could be raised or moved at all without computers. In this hospital room, I feel far away from the chaos of the computing industry. Here, the great promise of machines that make our lives markedly easier and better is realized. Lately I’ve despaired of realizing that promise. The industry seems plagued by harmful idea after harmful idea, led down fruitless rabbit trails by disconnected leaders bent only on profit. I may not be happy with computing right now, but it’s nice to remember that it is possible for people to use computers for good.