✨ The beauty of human creativity

In this age of machine-generated perfection, something is still deeply rewarding about grabbing a stick of wood and making something by hand. This past Christmas, with the help of kids and grandkids, we made a few mixing spoons for gifts. Starting from the same pattern but with varying levels of skill and technique, each spoon turned out a bit different. However, each one is special and beautiful because it has a human touch. And sometimes with variety and imperfection, a new pattern emerges that actually works better. This is one source of innovation.

In an age of AI-generated code, preserving the human touch remains important. Perhaps it is the well-thought-out documentation that explains exactly how this feature will help the user. Or the hand-coded API that is a pleasure to use. Explorations in new data structures and algorithms coded by hand sometimes result in amazing discoveries because thinking accompanies the creative process. Machines (including AI) can mostly only do what has been done before. But the real value lies in the new connections, the newly discovered truths, the well-understood needs of the user, and the exceptional quality. These still require human impetus.