Edifice Complex

I was reading a book the other day titled "Pushing The Limits". The author, Petroski has a fascination with big engineering projects, and has written a rambling but interesting account of some of the most impressive bridge and tunnel projects of the past hundred years or so. The book got me to thinking about people who had the vision, drive, talent and opportunity to build bridges and other massive construction challenges.

Building a bridge has some stickiness to it that I find worthy of envy. For a systems analyst, getting the weekly payroll to correctly generate a few thousand paychecks might have a short term glow to it. But, before you know it, you need to do it again, and again. After a while, no one really notices, unless you foul-up.

Implementing a successful business application cannot really compare to the lasting, palpable presence of a bridge or an edifice.

Most of the folks I've known (this probably includes YOU) have spent a lifetime of work and never do anything of comparable permanence. My favorite kind of work - shoveling snow - is quite satisfying in the short term. But, the visual pleasure of seeing the mountain of cleared snow is fleeting and ephemeral when compared to the gratification one gets from building something out of solid materials.

Even artistic accomplishments - paintings, statues, poems have a persistence that invites an increased sense of accomplishment. By the way, Blogging is the second least permanent medium I can think of, right after a spoken conversation. Verbal discussions and blogs are quickly crowded off the frame of focus by other distractions. Even the newspaper which most people throw away each evening, has more stickiness - and portability. Readers can take the morning newspaper into what Brian euphemistically calls the "library" to peruse during their daily squat. Try doing that with your Desktop monitor. But I digress.

The worst kind of work is missionary work. Helping people who are stuck in a bad situation is admirable. But bringing the evils of civilization and religion to the innocent peaceful inhabitants of some far flung jungle is worse than being a machine gunner.

Most of the work I have done is probably analogous to tunnel work. Most of the results are hidden. We were always talking about the light at the end, hoping that it was not an oncoming train.