13 ms·

I like the law/programming analogy, but theres probably more of a margin for error when your job is to convince some people, depending on if you're prosecuting

by dms105 11y ago

I like the law/programming analogy, but theres probably more of a margin for error when your job is to convince some people, depending on if you're prosecuting or defending. If you make even a small mistake when programming, it could break your entire program.

grillvogel 11y ago
if you make one "small mistake" while lawyering an innocent person might get sentenced to death. why do so many programmers think their job is inherently more special and difficult than everyone else's?
- jchendy 11y ago
  > why do so many programmers think their job is inherently more special and difficult than everyone else's? Probably largely because they get paid more than all of their peers when they start their careers.
- dms105 11y ago
  You misinterpreted what I was trying to say. I was simply trying to highlight that theres a difference between dealing with people and dealing with a perfectly logical machine, to support the point that interviewing programmers is harder than interviewing lawyers. And I'm not a programmer.
- acheron 11y ago
  There are easily many more programmers who work on potentially life-or-death systems than there are lawyers who litigate death-penalty cases in court.
  - dragonwriter 11y ago
    > There are easily many more programmers who work on potentially life-or-death systems than there are lawyers who litigate death-penalty cases in court. But potentially life-or-death cases are not limited to death penalty cases, they are just the most obvious class of cases that are life-or-death. There are far greater numbers (and proportion) of lawyers who work on potentially life-and-death work -- not limited to death penalty cases -- than programmers who do so.
    - acheron 11y ago
      Well, the OP said "sentenced to death" specifically, which is why I mentioned the death penalty. But ok. Either way I still don't think I agree, though frankly I'm just going off gut feeling and don't have any numbers. But think about how much medical device software is out there, plus industrial control equipment, airplanes and other vehicles, military stuff, etc. I know on HN the image of "programmer" is "person taking VC money to write a photo sharing app" but there's a lot of other work out there. Though for what it's worth this is less a "programmers are awesome and important!" argument than it is a "don't get your view of lawyers from television shows" argument -- if the OP had gone with doctors or something I wouldn't have said anything.

by dms105 11y ago

grillvogel 11y ago

if you make one "small mistake" while lawyering an innocent person might get sentenced to death. why do so many programmers think their job is inherently more special and difficult than everyone else's?

jchendy 11y ago
> why do so many programmers think their job is inherently more special and difficult than everyone else's? Probably largely because they get paid more than all of their peers when they start their careers.
dms105 11y ago
You misinterpreted what I was trying to say. I was simply trying to highlight that theres a difference between dealing with people and dealing with a perfectly logical machine, to support the point that interviewing programmers is harder than interviewing lawyers. And I'm not a programmer.
acheron 11y ago
There are easily many more programmers who work on potentially life-or-death systems than there are lawyers who litigate death-penalty cases in court.
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  > There are easily many more programmers who work on potentially life-or-death systems than there are lawyers who litigate death-penalty cases in court. But potentially life-or-death cases are not limited to death penalty cases, they are just the most obvious class of cases that are life-or-death. There are far greater numbers (and proportion) of lawyers who work on potentially life-and-death work -- not limited to death penalty cases -- than programmers who do so.
  - acheron 11y ago
    Well, the OP said "sentenced to death" specifically, which is why I mentioned the death penalty. But ok. Either way I still don't think I agree, though frankly I'm just going off gut feeling and don't have any numbers. But think about how much medical device software is out there, plus industrial control equipment, airplanes and other vehicles, military stuff, etc. I know on HN the image of "programmer" is "person taking VC money to write a photo sharing app" but there's a lot of other work out there. Though for what it's worth this is less a "programmers are awesome and important!" argument than it is a "don't get your view of lawyers from television shows" argument -- if the OP had gone with doctors or something I wouldn't have said anything.