Soft Errors and Dynamic Memories

Mom told me you’re still jealous that Uncle Jon-yi is Grandpa’s favorite child. Grandpa used to say Uncle was the smartest kid in the family—graduated top of his class in high school and, of course, went into the semiconductor industry.

When I visited Arizona during Christmas break, Uncle told me he was brought there to solve a glitch found on a chip—something about a tiny radioactive ceramic component casting rays. I told him I’ve started learning to work with clay. He said semiconductor chips and clay both come from the earth—something called silicon, or maybe silicone.

I heard from you that the Arizona plant is even more stressful than TSMC in Taiwan—or even teaching at Ching Hua University. Uncle half-joked that Taiwan’s semiconductor boom is built on the “cheap, exploding livers” of young engineers. Unlike their American peers, they’re still expected to work 12-hour shifts—just like  in Taiwan.

I wasn’t surprised when you asked if Uncle acted strange when I visited. I only knew from Aunt Betty that Uncle Jon-yi had locked himself in his room. Chris said he saw him dancing with his eyes closed during the night, like he was possessed. He told me not to tell Aunt Betty or you.

Today, I saw on the news that the Arizona plant has been shut down due to a worker shortage. There was a short clip on the local news of a sobbing Taiwanese lady in front of a mental hospital. She mentioned something about haunted clay her husband keeps dreaming about.

She reminded me of Aunt Betty.