[SystemSafety] Mothership

[Les Chambers]

This wired magazine article on Apple's mothership in Cupertino California is
worth reading for many reasons, not the least of which is the high quality
of this magazine's long-form journalism.

https://www.wired.com/2017/05/apple-park-new-silicon-valley-campus/

The features that endeared it to me are:

 

In requirements elicitation:

Journalist to Jonathan Ive: "But why do you need a four-story glass door?"

Ive raises an eyebrow. "Well," he says. "It depends how you define need,
doesn't it?" (you gotta love that guy - he was the one who spent three
months designing the stand for the iMac)

 

On the 'what' as opposed to the 'how':

The architects discuss the timber required for internal walls with Steve
Jobs.

 "He knew exactly what timber he wanted, but not just 'I like oak' or 'I
like maple.' He knew it had to be quarter--cut. It had to be cut in the
winter, ideally in January, to have the least amount of sap and sugar
content. We were all sitting there, architects with gray hair, going, 'Holy
shit!'"

 

On boundaries (reference our previous discussion)

Apple's world beating products are built on the philosophy of ignoring
boundaries at least in the short to medium term. This attitude got Steve
fired from his own company. It was viewed as commercially toxic and the
stuff of bankruptcy. This is manifested in the process for determining the
shape of the building. It took the collective wisdom roughly 6 years to
discover that it had to be a circle.

 

I'm sure if Jobs was still alive he'd be telling us that nothing worth doing
can be achieved in a lifetime. So we should apply this to wrangling AIs.
Chillout guys we'll get there ... Maybe the next generation.

 

Les

 

-------------------------------------------------
Les Chambers
Director
Chambers & Associates Pty Ltd
 <http://www.chambers.com.au> www.chambers.com.au

Blog:  <http://www.systemsengineeringblog.com/>
www.systemsengineeringblog.com

Twitter:  <http://www.twitter.com/chambersles> @ChambersLes
M: 0412 648 992
Intl M: +61 412 648 992
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Fax: +61 7 3870 4220
 <mailto:les at chambers.com.au> les at chambers.com.au
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