“My data storage approach is I uploaded on the Internet. And if it’s worth saving, somebody else will save it for me (My data storage method is simply uploading it to the Internet; as long as it’s worth keeping, someone will always save it for me)”
Although I had seen this widely circulated quote before, I didn’t know its source at the time. Recently, by chance, I learned about LTT and how Linus used AI to fix Linux bugs, mentioning how difficult the process was and how much help he received from AI. Then I happened to come across this video. Although it’s a video from late 2025, the topics discussed in it almost completely dissolved my anxiety about AI and overturned some of my own thinking.
This article records some of the words in the video that touched me, along with some of my thoughts. I will try to write them in the order of the video, so it might read a bit disorganized. After all, some similar viewpoints appeared at different times, giving a sense of being split up, but I chose to order them this way to make it easier for me to review the video.
Workflow
I wouldn’t say perfected, but almost perfected the workflow. (Can’t say perfect, but the workflow has been polished to be very close to perfect)
When you know what’s going on, it’s a predictable workflow. (If you know what is going on, it is a predictable process)
Because I have never worked in a corporate environment, whenever I encounter something new or learn and explore new things, I always try to find ways to align with real corporate development workflows. However, my abilities are limited, and in many matters, I cannot actually design or imagine how multi-person collaboration works. In this situation, there is a fear of the unpredictability of the future.
But Linus’s words, although talking about how the Linux development workflow is already relatively perfect, made me realize that perhaps, just as Linus said, existing things should be used directly rather than developed from scratch. In other words, I shouldn’t rack my brain to solve a problem under non-existent premises; instead, I should slowly try to understand it when actually working.
Although this is a bit of a departure from the original words, looking at the meaning of the original words, it also explains that once you turn uncontrollable things into controllable ones, the future actually becomes less scary.
Technical Problems
And technical problems are not stressful either, because technology, you can fix. (And technical problems don’t stress me out either, because technology is fixable)
Technical problems can be fixed, but people cannot. The greatest impact of this sentence on me is probably a huge relief of anxiety. I might have been constantly thinking that because I don’t know this or that, I can’t achieve this or that. But if you think about it carefully, most of these belong to what Linus calls technical problems. That is to say, not knowing it now doesn’t mean you won’t know it in the future; these problems can always be fixed, so there is no need to be anxious.
The main source of stress for me tends to be people. And people are strange, and you cannot fix people. (For me, the main source of stress tends to be people. And people are strange, and you can’t fix people)
Then there is the part about interpersonal relationships, which is actually also a release of anxiety. I feel that living in mainland China, growing up in an environment where there is always a feeling of being intentionally tripped up by others, especially elders, who even take pride in it, might create an emotional need for validation. However, this need will never be satisfied, leading to various problems. Linus’s words actually made me realize that it doesn’t really matter, does it? After all, this is something that cannot be fixed. (The mainland China issue mentioned here is just my personal observation, not necessarily a statistically universal situation, and has no actual scientific basis.)
Trying New Things
Q: if you could start Linux Development over again, what would you do differently? (If you could start developing Linux from scratch, what changes would you make?)
A: So there’s two answers to that. One is, now that I know how hard it is, I would never have gotten started in the first place. You need to have a certain amount of naivete to do something this big. The flip side of that answer is I would not do a thing differently, because it worked so well and it’s been such an enjoyable experience. (There are two answers to this question. One is because I now know how hard it is, I wouldn’t have started in the first place. You need to have a certain amount of naivete to do something this big. On the flip side, looking back now, I wouldn’t change a single step, because everything worked out so well, and I really enjoyed the whole process.)
Here, I actually want to quote a bullet comment (danmaku) from Bilibili:
We don’t do it because it’s easy. We do it because we thought it was easy. (We don’t do this because it’s easy, but because we once thought it was easy)
This point actually resonated deeply with me. If you approach a new thing with the mindset that it is very difficult, you might blame any small mistakes during the process on the difficulty of the task or your own lack of ability, and thus give up, perhaps never mastering it. However, if you try new things with a relaxed mindset, you might find them easier to accept and learn them much faster.
I thought about it: before my sophomore year, before being overwhelmed by things like “XX is super hard” or “you can’t do XX,” I felt like I could try almost anything in the world. But in my junior year, after viewing myself through lenses like “resigning to fate / facing reality / accepting mediocrity,” I seem to have never been happy again. What’s worse is that this made me almost stop trying new things, because every time I started, it was with the premise that whatever I did would be in vain, gradually turning into wanting to do almost nothing at all.
I’m not really an idealist, nor do I think I can go study at MIT or produce world-changing results. At my lowest point, I was so self-confined that I didn’t even dare to spend money—meaning I would only go to the supermarket to buy food I was familiar with. When trying to write small toy projects, I had to scout the technology stack first to make sure I was familiar with it, completely forgetting my own learning ability, and forgetting that even just changing my mood is an achievement.
Writing this, I can’t help but think of the “circle theory” I wrote about before. In different “circles,” there is a self-consistent theory within the circle. Although it may contradict the facts, under some unknown limitations, it is difficult or even impossible to break. I guess I am just like what I wrote, also trapped in some kind of “circle.” But as Linus said, this is not a technical problem either; it feels unfixable, so I might as well just accept it.
Involution
I’ve been very lucky in my life. I was at a startup for seven years, and I never felt that I was the smartest person in the room, and I never want to feel that. You want to be surrounded by people more competent than you. Because otherwise, what’s the point? (I’ve been very lucky in my life. I was at a startup for seven years, but I never felt that I was the smartest person in the room, and I never want to feel that. You definitely want to be surrounded by people more competent than you. Otherwise, what’s the point of being there?)
Linus’s words actually opened up a new way of thinking for me. To be honest, in the past, I was always in a state where I would only interact with people around me if I subjectively felt their level was equal to or lower than mine; if I encountered someone who might overshadow me, I would resist. Of course, I need to clarify that this subjective feeling of their level being less than or equal to mine doesn’t apply to all aspects, but rather that I felt I could handle most aspects where they were less than or equal to me. This actually kept me in a state similar to Ah Q’s “spiritual victory method,” which was also a form of self-confinement, leaving me with no opportunity to be in environments where I could encounter various new or advanced things.
At the same time, there was another thing: I used to fear finding a job in a place I couldn’t handle. But Linus’s perspective gave me new inspiration. If I downward-compatibly go to a place I have already completely mastered, where the people around me are probably at the same level, it would indeed be a form of repetitive labor and would become meaningless. On the other hand, working with people smarter than myself might lead to encountering something like the near-perfect workflow mentioned at the beginning, while witnessing the creation of beautiful work (if I can get in).
Generative AI
Q: Is modern generative AI a Bubble, the modern computing, or both (Is modern generative AI a bubble, a computing revolution, or both?)
A: I mean, it’s clearly both. And at the same time, it’s very interesting, and I think it will change society, and I think it will change how most skilled jobs get done. At the same time, I don’t think it’s as revolutionary as people make it out to be. (It’s clearly both. At the same time, it’s very interesting, and I think it will change society, and I think it will change how most skilled jobs get done. But on the other hand, I don’t think it’s as revolutionary as people make it out to be.)
Or you’re a programmer that has to learn to deal with a new reality. I think actually on the programming side, we’re in a fairly good spot. I really think that AI will be a tool, and it will make people more productive. (Or you’re a programmer who has to learn to deal with a new reality. I think actually on the programming side, we’re in a fairly good spot. I really think that AI will be a tool, and it will make people more productive.)
I think that vibe coding is great for getting into programming. I think it’s going to be a horrible thing to maintain, right? So I don’t think programmers go away. You still want to have the people who know how to maintain the end result. I’m a huge believer in AI. I’m not a huge believer in the whole things going on around AI. I find the marketing and the market to be sick and twisted, and there is going to be a crash, and it’s going to be ugly. (I think vibe coding is great for getting into programming, but it’s going to be a horrible thing to maintain, right? So I don’t think programmers will disappear; people who know how to maintain the final result are still needed. I’m a huge believer in AI, but I don’t completely believe in all the hype surrounding AI right now. I find the marketing and the market to be sick and twisted, a crash is bound to happen, and it’s going to be ugly.)
I feel these words almost completely shattered my anxiety about AI. In fact, through my own use of AI, I had slowly begun to notice this issue, but due to my shallow experience and lack of deep understanding, I didn’t dare to trust my own conclusions. However, Linus’s perspective certainly acknowledges that jobs will disappear and new ones will emerge, and that AI is developing, but it is far from being as terrifying as advertised.
Just as I have previously analogized AI to other new things, this kind of shift is inevitable; we can only adapt slowly. But it’s not to the point where we can’t survive. At the same time, we should confidently and boldly integrate with it, rather than thinking about resisting it.
Project Development
Q: Has “mainstream” acceptance of Linux become more important to you over the years? Or is it enough to know that people are using it whether they know it or not? (Has the “mainstream” acceptance of Linux become more important to you over the years? Or is it enough to know that people are using it, whether they know it or not?)
A: I actually don’t even care. I care deeply about users, in the sense that a project that doesn’t have users is pointless. So users do give any project, and my projects in particular, a meaning, in that sense. (Actually, I don’t even care. I care deeply about users, in the sense that a project without users is pointless. So in that sense, users do give any project, and my projects in particular, meaning.)
Previously, I felt that writing something new required adding new technologies, and I wouldn’t do compatibility work just to satisfy my own aesthetic purism. At the same time, tinkering became a non-reproducible “show-off of skills,” and most of the time, phrases like “I used XX technology” or “This actually uses XX” were used to compensate for the program’s lack of usability.
But Linus’s words made me reflect not just on my programming. Considering anything, like publishing videos or creating things, a work without an audience to appreciate it is indeed very boring. I feel bad about my previous behavior of intentionally using obscure and difficult language so that others couldn’t understand or use it. At the same time, this might also apply to daily communication—we shouldn’t communicate with the premise of the other person not understanding, but rather aim for a conversation that both parties can enjoy.
Thick Skin
Having done this for 35 plus years, you learn to have a thick skin. I probably had a thick skin to begin with, But you get…I get a lot of hate too. I mean, you said I’m universally love. No… (Having done this for over 35 years, you learn to have a thick skin. I probably had a thick skin to begin with, but you get… I get a lot of hate too. I mean, you said I’m universally loved. No…)
I actually relate to this as well. I often end up self-deprecating or fearing rejection because of a single sentence, which stops me from doing many things—like having a so-called “glass heart.” Later, I slowly eased the pain of being hurt by negative comments through rational perspectives, such as axioms like “all men are created equal” or declarations of human rights. Looking back now, it seems a bit strange, because when I was rejected back then, under the premise of being depressed, it almost turned into a denial of my very existence.
How should I put this… it feels like I still need to socialize more. We should look at other people’s feelings or evaluations rationally; maybe it’s not necessarily our own problem. After all, even Linus said he is not universally liked.
Love
“Well, what I meant is throughout the universe, there are people that love you. Not that all of them do. (Ah, what I meant is that in the entire universe, there are people who love you, not that all of them do)”
If you search the whole universe, you are bound to find somebody. (If you search the entire universe, you are bound to find a few who love you)
What a beautiful sentence. I hope that one day we can also find someone we mutually love.
Conclusion
It feels a bit strange in some places, completely unrelated to the original meaning of the words. But after all, it’s about writing my true feelings, so writing it like this is fine.
Suddenly, I kind of understand those past assignments like book reviews or reading comprehension questions. But of course, writing from the heart is always the best; forced execution is never a good way.
References
Additionally, all the sentences in the article come from the LTT video. The source links are: