Why Software Engineering
Silicon is to this generation what was paper, and the printing press was to the 15th century. The difference between then and now is that the amount of information that can be written on silicon is many billions of times greater than the amount of information that can be written on pages made from wood pulp. Similarly, the distribution speed that the Internet can achieve in distributing this information is many trillions of times faster than what can be achieved with a printing press than is with traditional distribution methods.
With all of the learning and human development enabled by paper and the printing press, silicon and the Internet — which have far greater potential, promise a much greater benefit to humanity. So far, this material and its associated technologies have enabled lunar landings, massive increases of speed in global material and information transfer, and extreme amounts of progress in the aerospace, automotive, and manufacturing economic sectors.
Fully realized, the information age will enable humans to protect this planet (at least from themselves), colonize other planets, and move towards perfecting themselves.
The only way to enable the information age to do this is through software engineering. Computer programming is the only way to shape the electrical energy that activates the silicon transistors in such a way that they model our world, and the way people live their lives. Once this is done, people can use these ultrafast models to change their vehicles, environment, and lives. Examples include the Boeing 777, modern agriculture, and social media, such as Linked-In, Facebook, Twitter, and GitHub.
These fantastic inventions that changed the world — and the universe, for the better, are what motivate many to become software engineers.
