Young and Old

There’s a quote I heard a little while ago that really stuck with me: If you are not a liberal when you are young, you have no heart. If you are not a conservative when you are old, you have no brain. Following up my recent post about politics, I have a complementary version to this: If you are a young engineer who doesn’t hate politics, you have no heart. If you are an old engineer who doesn’t hate politics, you have no brain. ...

October 5, 2025 · 1 min · 84 words

Changing my mind on politics

One thing I’ve changed my mind on recently is the importance of politics. When I worked as an individual contributor at large companies, I hated the bureaucracy and politics. Don’t get me wrong, I still do. But I’ve come to realize that politics is not a blocker, it’s a lever you can pull. If you can learn to navigate it, it is a lot more powerful than any engineering work. ...

October 4, 2025 · 2 min · 236 words