5 ms·

Btw, one of the most brilliant engineers/architects I met a Microsoft, now a distinguished engineer at Amazon, started his career as an auto mechanic (he attend

Btw, one of the most brilliant engineers/architects I met a Microsoft, now a distinguished engineer at Amazon, started his career as an auto mechanic (he attended trade school for this). He is also the principal architect of IBM's DB2. His name is James RH. See this: (Why Amazon Hired a Car Mechanic to Run Its Cloud) http://www.wired.com/2013/02/james-hamilton-amazon/ http://www.wired.com/2013/02/james-hamilton-amazon/

pen2l 11y ago
Wait, what. Am I correct getting this impression that what's being said is that auto mechanic work is somehow not "brain work"? Because for solving a lot of car problems it takes brains. If you're good at troubleshooting car problems, you will actually probably be good at programming.
- wiremine 11y ago
  It's definitely brain work, but it is concrete, physical 3D space kind of thinking. Programming, and especially software architecture, tends to be more abstract thinking. FWIW, the Kolbe test methodology [1] has a good way of quantifying this sort of natural aptitude. 90% of programmers I know who have taken the test [2] are very good at abstract thinking, and not as good at the physical kind. [1] kolbe.com [2] Maybe 2 dozen programmers. So, not a huge sample, but enough to see a trend.
  - tetraodonpuffer 11y ago
    why would you think it's concrete thinking only? car mechanics seems basically the same as software debugging, yes, there is a bit of physical thinking when it's time to take parts out and put parts in, but if the car is not turning on you have to figure out in your mind the "algorithm" that is going on from the key turning to the engine working, and debug each step. There might be a bit of 3d thinking in figuring out how to, say, measure that in location X of the engine there is current Y, but it's not like you can figure out you have to check the current in that spot without having a clear mental picture of what is going on. Not to mention remembering that car model X tends to develop fault Y which sometimes causes observable behavior Z, which can be identified by checking A, B, C etc. etc. seems very similar to software engineering to me.
  - black_knight 11y ago
    Someone needs to read «Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance»
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

pen2l 11y ago

Wait, what. Am I correct getting this impression that what's being said is that auto mechanic work is somehow not "brain work"? Because for solving a lot of car problems it takes brains. If you're good at troubleshooting car problems, you will actually probably be good at programming.

wiremine 11y ago
It's definitely brain work, but it is concrete, physical 3D space kind of thinking. Programming, and especially software architecture, tends to be more abstract thinking. FWIW, the Kolbe test methodology [1] has a good way of quantifying this sort of natural aptitude. 90% of programmers I know who have taken the test [2] are very good at abstract thinking, and not as good at the physical kind. [1] kolbe.com [2] Maybe 2 dozen programmers. So, not a huge sample, but enough to see a trend.
- tetraodonpuffer 11y ago
  why would you think it's concrete thinking only? car mechanics seems basically the same as software debugging, yes, there is a bit of physical thinking when it's time to take parts out and put parts in, but if the car is not turning on you have to figure out in your mind the "algorithm" that is going on from the key turning to the engine working, and debug each step. There might be a bit of 3d thinking in figuring out how to, say, measure that in location X of the engine there is current Y, but it's not like you can figure out you have to check the current in that spot without having a clear mental picture of what is going on. Not to mention remembering that car model X tends to develop fault Y which sometimes causes observable behavior Z, which can be identified by checking A, B, C etc. etc. seems very similar to software engineering to me.
- black_knight 11y ago
  Someone needs to read «Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance»

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]