The Cost of Switching Minds

In Taiwan, working on motor drives often means doing two things at once:
developing control algorithms and writing firmware.

But over time, I’ve come to realize something very clearly—
these two tasks use fundamentally different modes of thinking.

When I’m working on control theory—deriving models, designing observers—
I’m operating in a highly abstract, continuous, deep-focus state.

But when I switch to coding—debugging interrupts, handling ADC timing—
I move into a discrete, fast-switching, logic-driven mode.

The problem is:
these two modes don’t coexist well.

Every time I switch from algorithms to implementation,
it feels like flushing the brain’s cache and reloading everything again.

The fatigue doesn’t come from the workload itself—
it comes from the constant switching.

This is why, in Silicon Valley—and not just in motor drives,
but across nearly all tech industries—
there is a clear division of roles:

Engineers focused on abstract thinking and algorithm design,
and engineers focused on implementation and coding,
are often separate.

This separation is not about capability.
It reflects a deeper understanding of efficiency—

how to let the brain operate in the mode where it performs best.

Different types of work engage different cognitive systems.
When a person remains in the same mode of thinking long enough,
their work becomes more stable, deeper, and more meaningful.

True efficiency, therefore, is not about doing everything yourself,
but about structuring work in a way that allows each mode of thinking to fully perform.

Let the brain do the right work, in the right mode.
switching.

在台灣做 motor drive，常常同時要做兩件事：
一邊推導控制演算法，一邊寫 firmware。

但這幾年我越來越清楚一件事——
這兩件事，其實在用完全不同的大腦。

當我在做控制理論、推導模型、設計 observer 的時候，
那是一種高度抽象、連續、需要長時間專注的思維狀態。

而當我在寫程式、debug interrupt、處理 ADC timing 的時候，
那是一種離散、快速切換、偏邏輯與語法的思維模式。

問題在於，
這兩種模式，很難同時存在。

每一次從「算法」切到「實作」，
就像把大腦的 cache 清空，再重新載入一次。

你感覺到的疲累，
往往不是來自事情太多，
而是來自於不斷的切換。

這也是為什麼我觀察到，在矽谷不只是 motor drive，
幾乎所有科技產品的開發，都是這樣分工：

負責抽象思考與算法設計的工程師，
與負責系統實現與程式開發的工程師，
通常是不同角色。

這並不是能力的問題，
而是對效率更深一層的理解——

如何讓大腦運作在最適合的模式之中。

因為不同類型的工作，本質上調動的是不同的認知系統。
當一個人能夠長時間停留在同一種思維模式，
思考才會變得更穩定、更深入，也更有價值。

所以真正的效率，
不是把所有事情都自己做，
而是透過有效的分工，

讓大腦在對的模式下，做對的事。