Reading - PhD's greatest gift

I was thinking today that the greatest gift I have received from the PhD process is an appreciation for the value of reading. There are a lot of problems in this world and the first step in trying to solve them is reading. It also turns out that many efficient solutions to problems are not that complicated if you think about them enough. The only problem is that there is too much to read. I feel like I can spend all of my days reading and never get anything else done, I guess it's all about balance. The sad part is that I have realized this a bit late in life because essentially I became an engineer partly because I hated reading and writing, now it turns out that I have to do both to make it in life. But I am grateful that I have the motivation to read and to learn how things work. I don't know much right now, but my hope is that 10 years from now I will know a lot. Hopefully, if I know a lot, I will be able to solve problems more efficiently and hopefully I can solve problems that can make a difference. Life is tough but we can make it less tough if we focus on solving problems and it all starts with reading. So find something you're passionate about and read the hell out of it.