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I thought just about this the other day, when I stumbled upon some category on a streaming service. It contained dramatic documentaries about various workers, a

I thought just about this the other day, when I stumbled upon some category on a streaming service. It contained dramatic documentaries about various workers, all of which shared similar characteristics to those one can play in a simulator. I started to think about how hard it would be to create a docuseries about any of the positions prevalent among HN people. "We need to refactor this codbase, ASAP!" is not really worthy of dramatic cuts and voiceovers. I like my work, but it is kind of baffling how most of my day is spent manipulating "imaginary" things. So many levels of abstraction between what I do and the final (and only) physical result: The change of light emission on someones piece of glass somewhere. (And of course changed charges in some memory module somewhere, but that's quite hard to observe for the casual viewer)

philwelch 8y ago
There are (used to be?) a bunch of popular documentary series about these jobs, like "Ice Road Truckers" or "Deadliest Catch" or "Axe Men". Part of the appeal is that these are jobs where you can actually see the work that they're doing. Another part of the appeal is the inherent drama in these workers risking their lives. (There's a strong positive correlation between "rate of workplace accidental deaths" and "how interesting a job seems in a documentary".) I think another issue is specialization. If you don't actually have a ton of background knowledge about software in general, and your particular software requirements in particular, the things that people that you and I worry about all day aren't really meaningful. Like, if you watch Star Trek, you don't actually know what the technobabble means (because it doesn't mean anything), and the only reason you care in the first place is because the end result is whether or not the ship blows up. Software engineering is like that except without a ship blowing up. Likewise, medical and courtroom dramas are far more interesting than the real life of a doctor or a lawyer because they spend most of their time immersed in the arcane. Which is kind of what simulators like this help with. You're not going to understand how to drive a train or maintain a Spitfire by reading a book or anything, and nobody actually has to know how to do those things unless they do them for a living, but getting a chance to pretend to do these things in a game gives you a broader understanding and helps you understand and appreciate the people who do these jobs.

philwelch 8y ago

There are (used to be?) a bunch of popular documentary series about these jobs, like "Ice Road Truckers" or "Deadliest Catch" or "Axe Men". Part of the appeal is that these are jobs where you can actually see the work that they're doing. Another part of the appeal is the inherent drama in these workers risking their lives. (There's a strong positive correlation between "rate of workplace accidental deaths" and "how interesting a job seems in a documentary".) I think another issue is specialization. If you don't actually have a ton of background knowledge about software in general, and your particular software requirements in particular, the things that people that you and I worry about all day aren't really meaningful. Like, if you watch Star Trek, you don't actually know what the technobabble means (because it doesn't mean anything), and the only reason you care in the first place is because the end result is whether or not the ship blows up. Software engineering is like that except without a ship blowing up. Likewise, medical and courtroom dramas are far more interesting than the real life of a doctor or a lawyer because they spend most of their time immersed in the arcane. Which is kind of what simulators like this help with. You're not going to understand how to drive a train or maintain a Spitfire by reading a book or anything, and nobody actually has to know how to do those things unless they do them for a living, but getting a chance to pretend to do these things in a game gives you a broader understanding and helps you understand and appreciate the people who do these jobs.