Although we all hate writing application essays, I learned, first through boarding school applications and then through Davidson’s application, that baseball has played a big role in the way I think and go about trying to solve problems. At first, I was annoyed that I may seem to come across as one-dimensional, a guy having spent too much of his time on the baseball field and not enough time involving myself with the many interesting extra-curricular activities that exist throughout the communities in which I have lived. However, after some self reflection, I realized that the game of baseball has taught me many things about life that many people do not get the opportunity to experience.
You may ask how any of this relates to technology, and until I read Nalyn’s post about the new movie “Initiation Game,” I never bothered to think about the connection. The movie follows Alan Turing, the outcast of a character who invented the machine that broke the Nazi code, ultimately helping the Allied powers defeat the Germans and the Axis powers. I’d like to focus the idea that ultimately helped Turing successfully create the machine to break the code, teamwork. Turing was a genius, however, like many people with brain power far superior to their peers, he kept to himself and he would often cast off people attempting to help him. However, at one point in the movie, British officials accused Turing of being a Spy, and attempted to shut his operation down. A pivotal point in the movie ensued in which the members of Turing’s team all threatened to quit if the officials removed Turing from the team and discontinued his project.
Although I could not find a clip in English, the words are not important to the nature of this scene. If it weren’t for his team members stepping up for him, Turing would have been fired, and the machine likely would never have been successfully built. Teamwork is an extremely important aspect of the innovation of technology. I believe a key reason that technological breakthroughs are happening at a far more rapid pace than in previous decades or centuries is because geniuses are collaborating instead of keeping their work to themselves. “Imitation Game” embodies this idea, and as we connive to share our breakthrough ideas on our digitally inclusive planet, teams of people will continue to help our species thrive on this planet.