1. What Left Shift Is
It should be noted that “left” here is not the political left, standing for conservatism or radicalism, but the left that describes a process β moving things earlier in time.
I first came across “left shift” while researching automated testing. The idea is appealing, and putting it into practice is simple. Translated, it means: testing used to happen after development was finished; now it is required to move earlier, with testing taking part in the development process as early as possible, tracking, managing, and testing the whole way through.
Besides testing, development can also benefit from this concept. Moving the process earlier, getting involved as soon as possible, completing small iterations one after another β isn’t that agile development? Once an iteration is complete, deliver it, rather than waiting until the very end. This process effectively prevents the directional errors that can occur during development.
At the end of 2019 the pneumonia epidemic broke out, and after it had lasted several months I heard the term again on television β “left.” The gist was that in response to the epidemic, some early, proactive interventions had been taken. This triggered me to think about “left” once more.
2. The Process of Cognition
Usually, all we see is the starting point A and the ending point Z.
We sow seeds, water and fertilize on schedule, and wait for the harvest. It may be a bumper crop, or it may be a poor one.
As time passes, or as its importance grows, we invest more of our intelligence in it and thereby gain more understanding. Combining that with our existing body of knowledge, we form conjectures about it and verify them, refining our understanding.
This process may go on for a long time; much of what was accumulated may even be overturned entirely.
Even among articles published in Nature, many do not stand up to decades of scrutiny, and they often reach conclusions that now look obviously wrong. Once the foundation crumbles, the edifice topples with it.
But that does not mean we are more brilliant. The foundational understanding of an era constrains how people think, and they arrive at conclusions that fit. I say “fit” because the conclusion can be explained. As foundational understanding keeps being updated, conclusions are once again replaced.
3. The Process of Intervention
A fitting conclusion has positive significance: it can guide intervention. Intervention requires material conditions, and it can directly create universal value.
The finer and deeper our understanding, the more it helps intervention. Identifying the key factors and intervening early is the mode of production with the lowest cost and the greatest return.
Left shift is in fact intervening early; it is an opportunity, and it also carries challenges. The precondition for shifting left is having accumulated enough understanding; otherwise, once the direction is wrong, the destruction will be overwhelming. This is the strategic dimension.
Of course, nothing can wait until it is 100% certain. Often we weigh the pros and cons, lean toward one side, and what remains is active tactical adjustment.
