3 ms·

> the variance within fields, as is the variance within genders, dwarfs by far the variance between them. This is a slightly weaker statement than the one made

> the variance within fields, as is the variance within genders, dwarfs by far the variance between them. This is a slightly weaker statement than the one made above, but I still don't agree with it. Surely there is variance, but the median programmer is far far less social than the median (for example) doctor. Yes, there are Tim Brays on our side who are quite socially oriented and radiologists and virologists who never see actual patients on their side, but every real programming job requires you to be alone and focused on a computer for long stretches of time. Is this incorrect somehow? What programming positions don't require this? (My fiancee is a resident, and I assure you that she does not spend long stretches of time on singularly focused tasks like programmers do - you will have to have a spectacularly convincing argument to convince me otherwise)

DaniFong 18y ago
I actually didn't argue with that. Maybe the 'typical' programming job is a terrible fit for the 'typical' woman. But there's a solution. Forget the 'typical' programming job. Even if the typical tech career would suck, it's still possible that of all possible careers, there a tech career that's the best for you. I think this is largely true in the startup world. And I think that if the press on startups focused less on founder youth, geekiness, and round-the-clock machismo, and more on the social benefit produced, the freedom gained, and the excitement experienced, we'd start to see very different people founding companies and working in computers. One might even suggest that's already starting to happen. Many fields can have long periods spent alone, honing one's abilities. Lawyers can. Writers can. Musicians can. Housewifes can. It may be a defining hallmark of technical careers, but I think it's far overrepresented in both the media, and our own heads.

DaniFong 18y ago

I actually didn't argue with that. Maybe the 'typical' programming job is a terrible fit for the 'typical' woman. But there's a solution. Forget the 'typical' programming job. Even if the typical tech career would suck, it's still possible that of all possible careers, there a tech career that's the best for you. I think this is largely true in the startup world. And I think that if the press on startups focused less on founder youth, geekiness, and round-the-clock machismo, and more on the social benefit produced, the freedom gained, and the excitement experienced, we'd start to see very different people founding companies and working in computers. One might even suggest that's already starting to happen. Many fields can have long periods spent alone, honing one's abilities. Lawyers can. Writers can. Musicians can. Housewifes can. It may be a defining hallmark of technical careers, but I think it's far overrepresented in both the media, and our own heads.