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I don't think this really achieves what it sets out to do, unless it was meant to be aimed at already very tech-literate people who just don't program yet. It f

I don't think this really achieves what it sets out to do, unless it was meant to be aimed at already very tech-literate people who just don't program yet. It fails my usual test for laypersons' explanations: would my mum understand it? My mum is a smart but non-techie person. I think this article, jumping off from its irrelevant take on business needs, through a (in my opinion) backwards diversion that fails to actually explain how computers process and display text, only then to touch on algorithms before racing off talking about conferences and how programmers feel about things, doesn't come close in all that to a solid laypersons' explanation. Soon it's asking you to evalute chunks of code when, if you are reading this article as someone who wants to know "what is code?", you don't even know what a loop is yet. This seems more like "What is tech culture?" for people who are already a part of tech culture. I think people like it for its animations and interactive elements, but when you strip those away there's very little actual content there.

ChrisSD 8y ago
Considering this is Bloomberg the intended audience is likely business people. The "irrelevant take on business needs" is far from irrelevant in this context. On the contrary, it's describing the type of person this article is aimed at.
- monadgonad 8y ago
  Good point. I've only seen it shared in very techie circles.
bluesnowmonkey 8y ago
It succeeds in the goal of helping programmers understand how they are perceived by business people, and how to be effective in a business environment.
- deathbytray 8y ago
  I feel like he accomplishes this in the first section of the writing. I agree with you, my favorite part is the fictional(?) narrative in the beginning. I almost wish this article was less about "what is coding" and rather a deeper exploration of how developers and software projects are perceived by traditional business people.

ChrisSD 8y ago

Considering this is Bloomberg the intended audience is likely business people. The "irrelevant take on business needs" is far from irrelevant in this context. On the contrary, it's describing the type of person this article is aimed at.

monadgonad 8y ago
Good point. I've only seen it shared in very techie circles.

bluesnowmonkey 8y ago

It succeeds in the goal of helping programmers understand how they are perceived by business people, and how to be effective in a business environment.

deathbytray 8y ago
I feel like he accomplishes this in the first section of the writing. I agree with you, my favorite part is the fictional(?) narrative in the beginning. I almost wish this article was less about "what is coding" and rather a deeper exploration of how developers and software projects are perceived by traditional business people.