Thoughts

Hello, world. I’m Charles Rojo, and I’m a Master’s student in Computer Science at Stony Brook University. My intent with this blog is to release my “Computer Scientist” side to give you some insight into what the profession is like, from my perspective.

Computer Scientists stray from the definition of natural scientists. We wear many hats, exploring in the domain of all things. We research the depths of basic logic and information. We analyze, generalize, and classify different kinds of “problems” in nature, then sift from them a collection of common underlying patterns. This allows us to unite disparate concepts into equivalent fundamentals. Our findings fortunately don’t idle in research papers, but form foundations on which software engineers build complex and important systems.

The field holds many from studies like physics, medicine, math, and even the arts. The findings of the field affect all equally, from the technical professional to the layman. Our society thrives and depends on firm digital ground. I’ve created this blog, for example, on the foundations of existing free software called WordPress, and a hosting service called Blue Host. Without tools such as these, you likely wouldn’t be able to read my ideas here. Even our modern vocabulary is affected, since bizarre words like “blog” now have clear meaning and common use.

Software has power to ease life, broaden reach, and widen understanding. If done well, it can even break through boundaries formerly thought impassable. For example, the code of life - genetics - is becoming well known through algorithms, and it has a good amount in common with computer code. Who would have thought? Computing now gives us deeper glimpses into the nature of our life, our connections to the world, and the universe ~ our grand container. Earth gives us a beautiful blue perspective on this universe, and I think it’s a great gift to have the chance to explore it. That’s why I’m a computer scientist.

I have some broad goals that help to keep me on track. I’m primarily drawn to science of the earth, space, and the mysteries in everything. I came into computing because i find that technology provides an effective way to explore these things. It’s not the only way, but it’s definitely powerful. It gives me an effective framework to explore probe through patterns, ask questions, discover unknowns, deduce, and explore. Our society faces many big challenges, and I’d ultimately like to contribute to overcoming them. Many people struggle in the world, and I also want to help those in need achieve a better quality of life. Face it, everybody deserves a bit of quality =)

I see a recent trend in society, that’s marked by movies like “The Matrix” and noticeable in ideas like “virtual reality” and “singularity.” I want to make it a point to keep computers in their place. They should only aid us in our human endeavors, and we should avoid a future that forces us to conform our actions around some particular style they impose. Technology ought to flex to fit our social needs and human instincts. For example, you might think of a keyboard as second nature ~ maybe you’ve been trained with it since youth. But is it really the best way to get your message across? Are computer monitors really the best way to convey information in a machine? Is it healthy to expose ourselves daily to a false light of glowing crystals in a computer screen? I believe the answers for these ought to be “no,” and I want to improve our situation so that I needn’t ask these questions. Unfortunately, society seems to bend backwards to fit technology today. I’m looking to flip the situation and find the best ways to complement humanity with technology.

More directly, I’m a guy from Long Island with opinions about computing, technology, space, and life. I know that the space thing is a little far out, but everybody has one =)

I’ll try to share what I can here in the hopes that some might find it interesting. On the off chance I hit on something good, at least the idea won’t be lost. I’ll try to keep postings on what I’m up to with classes and with personal projects. Here is a quick list of things I have in the works, in planning, or in mind:

• Improvements to the computer-human interface
• Group development and collaboration ideas
• Applications of computing toward studying the world and space
• Visualization with Graphics Processing Units (GPU), and application of the parallel-processing capability of graphics cards and new processors toward solving problems in my areas of interest.
• Artistic visualization and coding (a.k.a. demoscene)
• Class work
• A few random theories I come up with late at night when I can’t sleep

Whatever it will be, that’s what it is. Hopefully I’ll catch your interest =) Thanks for reading!