Vikram Dhillon

Hacker, designer and everything in between. Currently working on the OpsBug magazine. In my spare time, I hack on cryptocurrencies, message queues or design blog theme/features.

I’m addicted to puzzles. When I solve a puzzle, the world makes more sense. It becomes more vibrant and keeps me going for more. Andrew Wiles describes working on a problem as walking into a dark mansion. For the first while, you bump into the furniture and try to make out where everything is. Then eventualy you understand an outline of the room you're in and six-months later, you finally find the light switch and the whole room is illumintaed, you can see exactly where you were and where you will be going.

A computer can calculate and go on without any need to stop, I thought I could do the same spending countless hours in front of my laptop. I was becoming a machine, focused on optimization and performance and less on myself and my reasons for starting this journey in the first place. Eventually, I hit a wall that I couldn't climb, and I needed new inspiration. I ended up picking back an old habit of mine: Reading and started evaluating my life with a fresh-set of eyes to understand the reason behind the things I am passionate about and a new place to belong.

I thought about one of Nietzsche's aphorism that describes my situation very well: One who fights monsters must be careful that he doesn’t become one himself because as you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back into you. When you solve the puzzle to vanquish that endless darkness, the darkness also vanquishes a part of you.

It's all about how perspective: Don't let your passion dilute into the endless sea of questions and problems. Life has more to it and all you need to do is open your eyes and see