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Recycle (-ing from the) bin *~``~`*`-`-`~`*` |_|

As my winter project with KPMG, I am currently doing research in the area of Information Security in order to prepare an authoritative 'guidebook' for IT professionals in this area. To tell the truth I mostly search content on the net, screen it and realign it - of course my work is then reviewed by people with experience in the area who improve it, plug the holes and correct mistakes. But fundamentally we are just recycling the same old concepts . . . .
Even during our MBA, when we submitted assignments to our Profs we used to 'compile' them from what we found readymade on the net. There were some professors who would themselves indulge in extensive Googling and thus catch 'googled assignments' red-handed. Once that started, we changed our tactics; we used the same readymade stuff but changed the language - changing active to passive, or using synonyms. We were still caught at times but more often than not we escaped unscathed and ended up with above-average grades :D
When we were involved in coding for MastishK http://mastishk-nitie.blogspot.com we mostly relied on Googled code which we changed and used in our games - the amount of original code written was probably 30-40%, rest was either downloaded form the net or locally recycled (one team using code written by other teams). My discussions with friends in the software industry reveal that most of 'business-code' is also copy-pasted from old code rather than written fresh.
I wonder all the while whether this 'recycling from the bin' methodology is correct or not. Those who have read 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand, will recollect that the protagonist - 'Howard Roark' is in protest against recycling of old architectural concepts, used to build stone structures, in building the new age buildings. In the software industry recycled code may result in grave problems. Though ideally we must either write a code from scratch or thoroughly test old code before using it, but in reality we hardly do any of these and use old code blindly - what happens if the original piece of code has some fundamental fault? Any guesses? Remember Y2K - some had predicted the end of humanity :P . Just because the first person never thought what will happen when the two-digit date becomes '00' in 2000, software systems across the world faced crisis situation.
Think what could happen if we don't innovate fresh concepts and recycle concepts in every other field - who knows? probably we are loosing a lot by not reviewing designs of turbines and boilers that produce electricity. Who know there could be better ways of producing hydro-power . . .?
There is a need to change our attidude - we must reject the 'recycle' mentality. In UNIX/Linux systems there is no term called 'Recycle Bin'; it is called 'Trash Can' (you might have noticed that your email-inbox (which run usually on Unix) also has the same nomenclature) . Life also should be devoid of a Recycle Bin - throw away trash - don't keep it with you. (Philosophically, forget the past - consider your life afresh - every challenge is new and your past success and failure should not affect your present)

The "Recycle Bin" problem is more pertinent to a country like India where everything including our educational systems discourages 'innovation' thus promoting 'recycling' . . . . high time we stop recycling intellectual property and start recycling plastic!!

Comments

  1. interesting and thought provoking...

    but if you look back into history... its the same thing happening... we (humans) have been doing this trashing old and inventing new ways of living... in every sense...

    we can also call it changing 'fashion' of life... or the way we think! just (for sake of example) take your own thinking pattern and you'll find that it has gradually eveolved and if you compare it with certain distinct time period... you'll realize that you have thrown lot of shit in bin... and recycled some new ;)

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