4 ms·

What makes software so different from every other endeavor in that regard?

• whataretensors 9y ago
  Scope
  • IntronExon 9y ago
    Medicine encompasses everything from practice to research, humans to non-human animals, procedures and devices to drugs and therapies, and touches nearly every human alive. Engineering is even more diverse and penetrating, and software is merely a subset. It ain’t scope.
• Bartweiss 9y ago
  If I understand your question: nothing, professional associations become anti-competitive gatekeepers in every endeavor. Roughly 30% of US workers have mandatory occupational licensing before they can do their jobs. Licensed services have roughly 15% higher prices than nonlicensed ones. Most of those workers are not in safety critical jobs - on average an interior designer faces more stringent licensing requirements than an EMT. Unions and professional associations have consistently been the main lobbyists advocating professional licensing as a way to keep wages high (by keeping supply low) and guarantee a role for the organization. Even in medicine, the number of residency slots is controlled in a way that creates a stable, minor shortage of doctors. I'm not against all licensing and oversight, obviously. I'd rather have a cap on residencies than untrained doctors, if those are the only two choices. But the history of 'every other endeavor' looks to me like a lesson in how oversight organizations will cause exactly this problem.
  • IntronExon 9y ago
    There is always a trade off, but each occupation learns the hard way thst it’s worth it. Hopefully software will figure that out in time to regulate itself before the government steps in with agendas and a heavy hand.