Relativeness

When I was a kid, everything seemed far away. In my head, Europe looked like an endless place that was pretty much my whole world. Poland, the country where I’m from, marked the boundaries of my cognition and crossing it even for a second felt like an adventure. America was a different, distant world, and Australia seemed so abstract that I thought about it the same way as the Moon. I remember my first flight to Norway, then to Spain, and finally crossing the continental border into Morocco. It always felt like pushing the boundaries. Whether hiking 10cm on the Slovakian side of the Tatra Mountains or surfing in Australia, 15 thousand kilometres from home, it was accompanied by a similar feeling of adventure. Something that earlier was out of reach suddenly became very close. Something that was once an abstract concept of a distant land and culture suddenly became a living reality that I could touch and experience. Nowadays, I think about Europe as a small, cozy place. You can fly between Oslo and Lisbon in 4 hours. Australia feels like my second home.

Some say everything is relative, and you can’t be sure about anything. I was tempted to think this way, but I don’t believe it is either practical or useful in the end. Constant doubts won’t lead you anywhere and will stay on your way while working on your goals. The right approach depends on the context, true, but in a particular context, some things work better than others. I firmly believe that even though we don’t know for sure, it is often more practical to behave this way unless someone proves us wrong. Being confident is not ignoring reality, but acting in a way that shows the world around us that we are aware of what we are doing. Once we recognise that our actions are harmful or ineffective, it is practical to take a step back and examine ourselves from a different perspective.

While programming, I see a lot of cockiness. People with little experience often act as if they know everything and fail to listen to advice. Finding the balance between being productive and humble is challenging and takes a long time, and this is particularly evident when chatting with the older generation. On the other hand, some of us are too timid and are paralysed by the fact that we could be wrong. Both approaches are harmful, and as usual, it is crucial to find a middle ground.