>> But Spolsky played down those surveys, saying programmers have “a desire to use the latest, cool new thing” and tend to move on from programming quickly, so

>> But Spolsky played down those surveys, saying programmers have “a desire to use the latest, cool new thing” and tend to move on from programming quickly, so that their ranks are filled by “new kids showing up with newfangled things they just invented, usually reinventing the wheel.” Odd and sad, and I think mostly true. As a 55 year-old working engineer I consider software my trade, and it's given me a life most people around the world would envy. I think how strange it would be to say "most carpenters quickly move on from woodworking," or "most architects quickly give up designing structures."