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If you run around telling people how hard programming is they'll never even get to the point that it does become difficult. That's why we tell people it's easy.
by Avshalom 10y ago
If you run around telling people how hard programming is they'll never even get to the point that it does become difficult. That's why we tell people it's easy.
- sotojuan 10y agoSurely there's a middle ground right? Being a surgeon is hard, being an astronaut is hard... there's a lot of jobs popular culture says are hard but it doesn't stop people from trying. The thing with programming is that it's turned into one of those things people say "you are born for". So when newbies have trouble with it, they give up and say their minds don't "work that way". I think it's good to tell people that anyone can learn the basics of programming and get started. No need to be a genius for that. I don't know why but people seem to think programmers are "different" than the general populace (even from those with other hard jobs). But it's not easy. We've all dealt with hard problems in our jobs, classes, or personal projects, right? If you tell people programming is easy they'll hit that first roadblock like the article says and quit. Seen it happen many times.
- nilkn 10y agoThis doesn't seem true. There are plenty of jobs that are commonly regarded as being hard and yet they attract plenty of people. I think you also drastically underestimate the number of people who are specifically interested in hard things, not easy things. And in many cases these are exactly the sorts of people you want to hire.