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those aren't analogous, like at all. or actually, they are analogous, just not in the sense you mean, as they don't serve as examples of "pair <whatever work>".
by nikofeyn 7y ago
those aren't analogous, like at all. or actually, they are analogous, just not in the sense you mean, as they don't serve as examples of "pair <whatever work>".
for both pilots and surgeons, no one is doing the same job at the same time. pilots and surgeons, when performing on the same flight or surgery, have different roles, and it's actually extremely important that they stick to and abide by those roles. you know, because it's high-stakes stuff.
however, before and after the flights or surgeries (akin to design or planning in software), or perhaps during sticky situations or emergencies (akin to debugging in software), or during post-flight or surgery reviews (akin to code reviews) they do work together on the same thing. during the sticky situation, emergency, or debugging stage, that thing is the emergency at hand. once it's dealt with, the separate, individual roles are assumed.
so thanks for your examples, as they just serve to further my point.
- jacques_chester 7y ago> for both pilots and surgeons, no one is doing the same job at the same time. Do you think pair programmers are literally bashing the keyboard simultaneously? Your point, as I read it, wasn't that "only programmers do pair programming". That's as trite as "only surgeons do pair surgery" or "only aviators do pair aviation", because it includes the profession. It's that only programmers doing any kind of assigning two minds to cooperatively navigate one problem space, which is demonstrably false.
- nikofeyn 7y ago> Do you think pair programmers are literally bashing the keyboard simultaneously? that's how the article and other articles define it: two people sitting at the same machine writing code. what is your definition? my point was indeed: what other industry practices "pair <work or implementation>" on the same task? and why would it be the second? we're literally talking about pair programming here, not just cooperative work.
- rabidrat 7y agoOne person is sitting at the machine, the other is sitting beside them. Like how one person is flying the plane, the other is sitting beside them. Pilot/navigator is a common role division. In pair programming, the person at the keyboard is doing the minutiae of the immediate task at hand (the pilot), while the other person is thinking through the next steps or how it fits into the whole (the navigator). They are not actually typing at the same time.
- workthrowaway 7y agothank you!! i had the same exact thoughts last night but refrained from commenting. same exact thoughts about pilots and surgeons. plus this: pair programming has only been studied / proven to work in a teaching environment, where one student is literally teaching the other and bringing them up to speed. i don't know of any study that proves that it works in a professional setting with experienced people having more or less the same background, working on the same task if there is any study, i would like to read it.