If you’re wondering why Feroze, an engineer, is writing about whatever he is writing, it’s for three reasons:

1) I’m trying to understand the broader scope.

I think all lived experiences contribute to a kind of mental model for how the world works. The more inputs you have, the better that model gets. Bill Gates talks a lot about this idea, how building mental models can help you think more clearly, avoid developing bias, and solve problems more effectively.

For me, that means looking outside of engineering. Art, music, design, history, anything that adds another layer. I’m most interested in how they all connect. That’s what helps me build a more complete picture.

2) I’m building my communication skills.

I still remember my first day on my high school robotics team. One of the mentors, an electrical engineer, sat all the freshmen down in a dim computer lab and walked us through a two-hour PowerPoint on embedded systems. Tiny yellow text on a light blue background.

It wasn’t that the information was bad. No one in the room could follow it. He didn’t understand his audience. He was essentially trying to give a third-year university engineering lecture to a group of 14-year-olds.

When I entered university, I saw more of the same thing. I've found that most technical people aren't great at clearly communicating complex ideas. Writing about tougher conceptual topics is my way of working on that. If I can explain something unfamiliar or abstract in a way that makes sense, then I know I’m improving.

3) I’m entering the feedback loop.

Social media is one of the easiest ways to test ideas in public. You have the ability to blast an idea onto everyone's feed. If the idea is bad, then nobody notices or engages. If the idea is good, then people will respond, question it, or even build on it. It becomes a loop. You put out an idea, see what happens, refine it, and put it back out. You start to see what works and what doesn't.

I think Virgil Abloh touched on this overall feedback loop at the end of his lecture “Insert Complicated Title Here” and on his Instagram:

He saw platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook as iterative prototyping tools. You can test ideas earlier, iterate faster, and if it works, build something that actually resonates with people. That's the feedback loop I'm trying to enter.

In Conclusion

From here on out, for any non-engineering articles I write, I'm going to include the following footer: