I keep seeing posts like this but they don't go into detail. What sort of data could they be getting, and why would they want it? Is the Android sandbox ineffective?
I agree with you in principal. When I worked in web development many of my projects were clearly defined and similar.
However when I got into more creative development I found myself faced with unique problems to which the solution was unknown. The development process in this case is less like an implementation and more a exploration of the problem space.
This process is more like sculpting or writing a book or solving a puzzle. As you sculpt the next steps reveal themselves. As you write a story the plot emerges. In order to solve a puzzle box you probe the box.
Solving the unknown in bridge building is working through sets of equations and to solve for variables. It involves doing math.
Solving the unknown in software involves a similar working through. "Doing the math" for code involves executing code. It's faster and easier. Ignoring this is like restricting your bridge planning by avoiding CAD or doing the math by hand.
Yes, once a solution is mapped out the ideal would be a full rewrite. The benefit of software is that it can be modified and finalized directly like baking a sculpt or revising a manuscript.
If a button allowed the working schematic of your bridge to magically materialize, and changing the schematic affected the real world bridge instantly with negligible implementation cost then civil engineering would evolve in the direction of software development. It's not the other way around.
When I read this book the first time, I was slightly intrigued and somewhat disappointed. Years later, when I was on a spiritual journey, a reread revealed profound depth and led me toward a complete shift in perspective on life.
After months of philosophy, I again questioned the value of the ideas the book hints at. It's one of those books that can be a guide - if you need one, are ready for one, and haven't yet encountered the deeper themes.
For the past several years I've been exploring deliberate practice in a number of different categories of sport, movement and musicality.
I have become convinced that the idea that deliberate practice is not enjoyable is entirely mistaken and results from incorrect framing and insufficient focus on the task. One must discard all notions of the greater goal or sport and design a new game around the simplest aspect which requires improvement.
By practicing meditation and mindfulness, you slowly learn to find skillful movement in all activity. When you can derive pleasure from the mundane - when all movement becomes a dance, you eliminate the distinction between plateaus and play, between practice and performance.
I reject outright the notion that my personality is innately autotelic. It is a skill and a mindset that I've cultivated slowly and intentionally, and it's the difference between sticking with a goal and loving the journey.