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I don’t get this mindset. Even when writing a trivial app, basic CS knowledge is relevant all the time when it comes to modeling your data, manipulating it; oft

by GuiA 6y ago

I don’t get this mindset. Even when writing a trivial app, basic CS knowledge is relevant all the time when it comes to modeling your data, manipulating it; oftentimes knowing a bit of mathematical formalisms lets you express things in much more direct ways. Similarly, computer architecture basics let you quickly estimate the plausibility of various features, etc. If you’re a programmer who doesn’t know any CS at all, you probably have a lot of room to improve. Kind of like a chef who only uses frozen foods and then doesn’t understand why things taste weird.

bregma 6y ago
It's a classic observation bias. If you're a programmer who doesn't know any CS, you are likely unaware of what you don't know. Googling for what you don't know is remarkably unuseful.
- tnecniv 6y ago
  There's also jobs that require advanced CS knowledge, but the people who don't know CS aren't going to end up in those.
  - momofarm 6y ago
    What kind of job requires advanced school knowledge?
mangodrunk 6y ago
I think when someone says the following: > More often you are glueing together tools or writing a bunch of boring business logic for some specific application at best. That explains their mindset. They are not doing much of anything that would require CS (or maybe they picked up enough and don't want to label it as CS for whatever reason). I agree with you, this mindset is not good for our industry. It's fine that there are jobs out there that require a programmer who doesn't have much theory/background, but the mindset that CS is somehow not needed for our industry is just wrong. If only there was more focus on theory and building a good foundation for us then maybe we wouldn't have all the problems that we have now (who knows though).
- DeathArrow 6y ago
  I can presume many of the problems are due to coders rushing to write complex software without having a solid foundation and sufficient grasp of what they are doing.

by GuiA 6y ago

bregma 6y ago

It's a classic observation bias. If you're a programmer who doesn't know any CS, you are likely unaware of what you don't know. Googling for what you don't know is remarkably unuseful.

tnecniv 6y ago
There's also jobs that require advanced CS knowledge, but the people who don't know CS aren't going to end up in those.
- momofarm 6y ago
  What kind of job requires advanced school knowledge?

mangodrunk 6y ago

I think when someone says the following: > More often you are glueing together tools or writing a bunch of boring business logic for some specific application at best. That explains their mindset. They are not doing much of anything that would require CS (or maybe they picked up enough and don't want to label it as CS for whatever reason). I agree with you, this mindset is not good for our industry. It's fine that there are jobs out there that require a programmer who doesn't have much theory/background, but the mindset that CS is somehow not needed for our industry is just wrong. If only there was more focus on theory and building a good foundation for us then maybe we wouldn't have all the problems that we have now (who knows though).

DeathArrow 6y ago
I can presume many of the problems are due to coders rushing to write complex software without having a solid foundation and sufficient grasp of what they are doing.