Matlab, the computing environment, had quite a nice sense of humor while presenting examples of applications to do with it. From drawing a penny to simulate the flushing flux of a toilet, a list of hidden commands will give you some interesting hints about how to use the environment.
But my favorite was always the why funcion. I could imagine a pair of mathematicians implementing the environment, reaching a dead-end on a development or failing to find the origin of a bug on the software. They both ask why the system is failing. Why they can’t find the error. Why do they need to implement this part of the system in the first place. Why. Why! WHYYYY!!!
And then, one told the other, “Wouldn’t it be awesome if there where an automatic way for finding it out?”. And the other one smiled. “Let’s work on it”.
Matlab’s why function is just a random generator of answers to this typical question. Things like “Because she asked some system manager” or “Because Bill wanted it this way”.
The funny idea and the random answers don’t hide the fact that we need to know why. Besides, we need to ask why. We need to know if we’re doing what we should be doing.
If you’re not doing it because of this, maybe you should stop doing it. And start doing the right thing you only can do.
In fact, one of the randomly-generated answers to Matlab’s why function is “Don’t you have something better to do?”
Soy Adolfo González, llevo veinte años alimentando proyectos, cultivando equipos y desarrollando productos... 