Software Development

Speaking broadly, there are two ways to think about life: passively or actively. Passive philosophy amounts to letting things happen, whereas active is about making things happen. I generally try to stay active. If I want something to happen, I need to make it happen. Sitting around waiting for something to happen or for someone to come along and tell you what to do is passive.

In the Linux kernel project, Linus Torvalds has made over 70,000 commits since 19911. That’s an average of over 2,000 commits per year, or about 6 commits per day, every day, for 30 years. Meanwhile, the average contributor makes fewer than 10 commits total. This isn’t an anomaly—it’s a pattern we see across the entire software industry.

I still remember a time when leetcoding interviews were less common, and then all of a sudden, they became the norm. Even for jobs that have nothing to do with leetcoding, it seems that most “tech” companies have galvanized around the idea that before you can hire anyone they must first prove that they can adequately impress someone with their skills at coding during an interview.