the lesson I learned in the “secret” building in Apple Park

The biggest lessons technology teaches us aren’t about devices. They can be a form of attraction, but the ultimate goal should be what we can see, create and feel with them. We’ve all had reverie with the beauty of technique – the engineering behind every millimeter elbow should be considered an art – but it shouldn’t stop there.

There are many stories behind the technology. Some you find in the most unexpected places. In 2019, the last WWDC19 before the COVID-19 pandemic, I was at the McEnery Center in San Jose to attend the “Platforms State of the Union” – a more “technical” presentation after the regulatory keynote. Next to me, a developer bursts into applause when the scene’s iOS team engineer mentioned the new accessibility features.

I realized it was blind later. After the presentation was over, I approached him and asked him why he had applauded so much the times when Apple placed so much emphasis on the need to integrate accessibility into applications. “This company has changed my life” – he answered without hesitation – “Not only because it made it easy for me to develop a profession that I love despite my problem, but also because it allows me to take advantage of applications developed by others, because of this attention to people with disabilities. “

That day I understood why it was so important that WWDC it was an in-person event.

A “secret” building in Apple Park

In 2017, the year I witnessed the opening of Apple Park, this area was just huge. It was located right across from the visitor center and I remember we were joking

that these facilities were going to be a new super secret laboratory. It was surrounded by huge, completely black fences that made it impossible to see its evolution – very similar to those you see when building an Apple Store – and only since the upper floor of the visitor center the works of this huge building, which may well be about two and a half Steve Jobs Theater (I like this thing about measuring the dimensions of buildings in “Steve Jobs Theaters”, I think I’ll do it more often).

The fact is that for the next two years, at every event I attended, next to I took a look at this building. Over time I figured out that Apple’s super secret labs weren’t there – but we’ll talk about that another day – although that mysterious building he had this charm of the uncertain. The mythology of the company also makes us ask ourselves these questions, It’s part of the game and here we came to play. Well, just this year, not only did I find out what was in that building, but I was able to get inside.

Marked on the map and on road signs as Tantau 14 (by street name), the construction is so modern that if you go there today via Apple Maps, you will still see it under construction. It was probably built a few months before this WWDC22, the year of our return to Apple Park. Apple calls this building the “Developer Center”, a gigantic construction whose sole purpose is to attract and concentrate the best developers in the world and that they can have first-hand contact with the engineers of the company itself.

It is forbidden to take pictures inside, but if you have followed the WWDC22 through the stories of the Instagram account Applesfera, or mine, you can get an idea of ​​what they are inside. Wood, aluminum, a neutral decor and minimalist but very warm and rooms of all sizes. On this occasion, Apple organized meetings with some developers for us to get to know their work better – and so that we could meet them and ask them all the questions we needed.

During these sessions, I really enjoyed discovering some of the very interesting projects they taught us – which I will tell you about in detail very soon – such as stress relief app (scientifically proven) which uses augmented reality scenes to relax us mentally. Another is an alarm clock that monitors us during sleep and wakes us up using music and sounds used in yoga sessions. In another, the artificial intelligence and LiDAR sensor of the latest iPhones is used to detect objects and people and allow the phone to “read” them aloud to us, for people with visual difficulties. Of these, and many more, we will talk about in the weeks to come. I will keep your anonymity since what I am going to tell you is not directly related to any app, but today I wanted to tell you about a moment that I loved living there.

speak the appropriate language

In one of the sessions with five developers, we asked them all questions. one of them, a sixteen year old – who even needed her parents’ permission to attend Apple’s WWDC22 – was extremely introverted. I was interested in her story, as it seemed to have a lot to do with her being at Apple Park.

“I had a hard time communicating with people” – he started to tell me almost without looking up from the table – “And I had no idea what my life was going to be like. Until the day I realized that I had no communication problem. My problem was that I was not using the appropriate language to express myself .”

I swear to you that if you put me goose bumps recalling the conversation.

“I speak through my code. I express myself better with algorithms than in English, and I see that it’s a form of communication where there are no misunderstandings. It’s science.”

– the only time I’m looking at myself that’s when he said all that – “I realized that in addition the tools provided by Apple are easy to learn at any time. If you want to know more, you have to try harder, but anyone can program. No matter the age, the nationality, studies or whatever. Anyone can speak this language. I encourage anyone in the world, regardless of their time in life, to program. It has probably saved my life in many respects.

The young girl, who without mentioning whether she had a psychological disorder – such as early-stage autism – was amazed at the discovery What did this world represent to him? It was life changing, and it can happen on many levels to anyone starting to grow. For some it will be a vital discovery – as it was for him – for others it will simply seem like fun, a challenge or a new hobby. Has no importance. It is equally important and interesting.

I look like my a very important lesson on the role of this technology in society, perhaps beyond what one usually thinks of it all – as something niche or reserved for a few. Or even that it is only used to create applications. The importance also of enjoying and discovering this creative path, which will also lead us to discover ourselves and how we think and relate to the world.

If you have children, grandchildren, nephews or children nearby, help them get to know the logical and scientific world of programming. Even if it’s only a game, it’s already a lot. For you, if you’ve never dared to get into programming and the world of development, start with the easy one. Try Swift Playgrounds on an iPad. Perhaps continue through these eight resources to start developing in Swift from scratch, in the various courses you can find on the internet, or look for a book on development. who inspire them. Build stuff, ask questions, have fun. Change your life or spend another moment, it will have been worth it.

Anyone can do it – it should be very clear – it’s never too early or too late to start. Even those of you who right now think it’s not for you. She constantly insisted the importance of getting the message across why programming is not only a great mental exercise, but also a form of expression.

I promised him that I was going to do it. This article go for her.