/w/biography/
A short biography
- Name:
- Wilhelm Joys Andersen
- DoB:
- 19th of April, 1984
- Location:
- Oslo Øst, Norway
- Occupation:
- Department manager of the Core QA department at Opera Software.
- Philosophy:
- Dialectical materialism mixed with a spoonful of utilitarianism – because I’m worth it. I ♥ science, too.
- Political point of view:
- -10.00, -7.95, according to the Political Compass. A communist, in other words.
Some things I like:
- Knowledge
- “Freedom does not consist in any dreamt-of independence from natural laws, but in the knowledge of these laws, and in the possibility this gives of systematically making them produce definite effects according to our plans” that other bearded German said. My absolute agreement with this statement leads to my obsession with understanding things – preferably everything. Therefore I read and study a lot – about economics, history, physics, philosophy, biology, programming – or whatever else it is that has caught my attention at any given moment. Not just because knowledge is fun, but because knowledge can be used to solve problems.
- Beauty
- I love beauty and elegance: the qualities present in objects that flawlessly serve their purpose with grace and economy in addition to strength and efficiency. I love the beauty of the hydroelectric generators that give us power, of the of the endless fields that give us food and of the machines that build our tools. I love the beauty of the maglev railroad in Shanghai that effortlessly transports people at amazing speeds. I love the beauty of Tokyo's vast skyline of man-made mountains. I love the beauty of Unix, of the Web, of the satellites and cables that make up the arteries of worldwide communication. I love the artwork of Bryan Larsen, Rolf Groven, Pink Floyd or J.R.R. Tolkien, who all tell great stories through brilliant images, sounds and words. I love the beauty in the work of skilled craftsmen - of programmers, tailors, engineers, cleaners, carpenters or nurses. I love the beauty of man consciously and skillfully shaping the world around him in whatever way he desires.
- Solving problems
- The world is full of fascinating problems waiting to be solved, preferably in a playful and elegant manner. I spend most of my day making the Web a better place. I build web browsers for computers, mobile phones and other devices at day, and build web sites and the free software that runs them at night.
- Political activism
- Some problems are way too large for any single person to solve alone. Changing human societies from their current buggy state (notable bugs: exploitation, imperalism, economic dictatorship, crappy software) into something nicer, for example, requires conscious action from the majority of us. I am doing my part through my work in Rød Ungdom, Rødt and various ad-hoc organizations. I'm primarily concerned with political issues related to my work, and love free software and open standards.
- Games
- I enjoy intellectual challenges of various kinds – especially in the form of games. That includes:
- Computer games, primarily from the Golden Age of Computer Games (1990-96). My ten favourite games are, in alphabetical order, as follows: Civilization, Colonization, Dune II, Little Big Adventure, Ports of Call, Railroad Tycoon, Star Control 2, Street Rod, Transport Tycoon and X-COM: UFO Defense.
- Roleplaying games, preferably in the fantasy genre and using the WFRP system.
- Board games, such as 1856, Attack!, Blokus, Bohnanza, Carcassonne, Citadels, Puerto Rico, Risk and Warcraft. I have made a list of games I have played.
- Travel
- I love seeing new places and meeting new people, so I travel whenever I have the time and money to do so. So far I have visited Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Monaco, Mongolia, Kurdistan, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United States and Yugoslavia.
