Sojin Park

A book about the life of Linus Torvalds, who created the Linux kernel used worldwide. It was published in the early 2000s and is now out of print, but I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow it from the National Library (https://www.bookoob.co.kr/). It depicted Linus Torvalds’ life in a plain yet vivid way, so I enjoyed reading it in about a week. These days, there aren’t many books I read from cover to cover, so it seems like it’s been a while since I finished one completely.

It was interesting because it touched on many of the values I had unconsciously been pursuing. Knowledge develops faster when it is shared. Rather than making money, I want to contribute to the advancement of knowledge and leave my name behind when I die. If there’s someone better than me, it’s right for that person to lead the project. I often talk over drinks about wanting to become a leader who leads a major technical project, and I found myself thinking that I’d like to live the way Linus did…

This book also made me think again about the relationship between products, technology, and society. It’s not that technology advances society, but that society advances technology. It’s not that information and communication technology makes people communicate more with each other, but that information and communication developed because people originally talked a lot. Technology advances the more it is shared, but a product with good technology doesn’t necessarily survive in the market. Only products that focus on customer needs survive in the market.

I usually enjoy reading autobiographies, but this one in particular resonated with my own life and made me think a lot about my future. Recommended!