He is hailed as one of the wisest muppet sages of our time. Who didn’t fall in love the moment we saw him helping our most beloved hero, young Luke Skywalker? “Help you I can, yes, hmm.”
And we were hooked. His words have been quoted for decades now, and though he originally taught Luke how to harness the Force to become one of the greatest Jedi knights of all time, his wisdom extends beyond his mystical knowledge and provides us with lessons we can apply to our daily lives.
(If you don’t understand any of these references you must stop reading and go see the original Star Wars trilogy. Right now.)
Here are a few lessons on caring for your computer from Master Yoda himself.
“When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not, hmm?”
Lesson: Keep your hardware and software upgraded.
If your computer is 900 years old, it’s not going to work anymore. In fact, these days, if your computer is more than 3 or 4 years old, it’s hopelessly out of date. The technology industry moves with lightning-speed and it is important to make sure that you keep up with it. This doesn’t mean that you need to buy a new computer every six months, but it does mean that you should always stay on top of your upgrades.
“Adventure. Excitement. A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless.”
Lesson: Don’t be reckless with your computer. It doesn’t crave adventure.
Computers are more fragile than we think they are. With the the majority of us living a mobile lifestyle, and technology quickly catching up, we can sometimes forget that these man-made devices have their own vulnerabilities. You might enjoy hiking through snow-covered mountains or riding camels in the scorching desert, but your computer is more sensitive than you are. It needs to be regularly cleaned and kept out of harsh weather conditions. Make sure to keep consistent backups in case something does happen, and keep your warranty up to date.
“Unfortunate that you rushed to face him. That incomplete was your training. That not ready for the burden were you.”
Lesson: You are not a trained professional. Ask for help when you need it.
Regardless of what you think you can learn from various blog posts on the internet, you are not actually an experienced computer expert. Sure, you can change your background, and maybe even remove a virus. But ultimately, unless you spent time studying about computers and getting certified, there is going to be a problem you don’t know how to solve. So don’t spend time trying to fix it, experimenting with what works and what doesn’t, because chances are you are just going to make the problem worse.
“All his life has he looked away, to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. What he was doing.”
Lesson: Technology keeps advancing. You need to make sure you have what works for you now, and in the future.
This piece of advice might seem a little contradictory to a couple others, but they are all true. The advancements that are being made happen seemingly on a daily basis, so you need to pick and choose your moments to upgrade carefully, especially when you are talking about an expensive piece of equipment such as a server or a firewall. And, when you do decide it is time to upgrade, make sure you are getting something that is going to last you for a long time. The last thing you want is to spend thousands of dollars on a new server only to discover that six months down the road you have run out of space again.
“Beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side of the Force are they.”
Lesson: Don’t fear the computer, learn how to take care of it.
They seem to be at the center of our lives. Where would we be without our computers, smartphones, and tablets? It’s only natural we fear losing them or having something happen to them. But fear can lead us to make silly, impulsive decisions. The most important thing we can do is educate ourselves on how to take care of our devices, so that we no longer need to fear what might happen.