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It's lucky to be a [enter profession] if you can appreciate it and accept it. Comparing with other fields and thinking that ours is better is like saying one r

It's lucky to be a [enter profession] if you can appreciate it and accept it. Comparing with other fields and thinking that ours is better is like saying one religion is better than another. Which some people argue it is how we should be thinking anyway. Because if other fields/religions are better/more correct, then why are we in this field/religion.

pfedor 18y ago
The existence and abundance of free/open-source software seems to indicate that programming is different. You don't often hear about lawyers or MBAs or doctors or chemists or carpenters or even writers and musicians who happily work without pay just for the fun of it and give away the results of their work.
- pmjordan 18y ago
  Well, I don't think that's necessarily true. Writers and musicians: have you been reading the internet at all lately? Doctors, lawyers: these activities necessarily involve working on/with someone and involve a massive amount of trust due to the amount of responsibility involved. This is why there are necessary qualifications before you can call yourself a doctor or a lawyer. Once you have those qualifications, it's not so hard to find someone to pay you for it, although even then people do it for free. (aid work, pro bono legal work) Carpenters: you're way off. I know fully trained carpenters whose main job is something else and they do carpentry in their spare time. Don't forget the results of that labour aren't as readily duplicated as anything in purely digital form, so visibility isn't going to be anywhere near as high. You can't just upload that chair to WoodForge. Chemists (or any "hard" science): uhhh, grad school? MBA: yeah, you got me on that one :)
- edw519 18y ago
  Lawyers were doing pro bono work long before open source. Many firms require associates to do some. Many lawyers I know do this happily.

pfedor 18y ago

The existence and abundance of free/open-source software seems to indicate that programming is different. You don't often hear about lawyers or MBAs or doctors or chemists or carpenters or even writers and musicians who happily work without pay just for the fun of it and give away the results of their work.

pmjordan 18y ago
Well, I don't think that's necessarily true. Writers and musicians: have you been reading the internet at all lately? Doctors, lawyers: these activities necessarily involve working on/with someone and involve a massive amount of trust due to the amount of responsibility involved. This is why there are necessary qualifications before you can call yourself a doctor or a lawyer. Once you have those qualifications, it's not so hard to find someone to pay you for it, although even then people do it for free. (aid work, pro bono legal work) Carpenters: you're way off. I know fully trained carpenters whose main job is something else and they do carpentry in their spare time. Don't forget the results of that labour aren't as readily duplicated as anything in purely digital form, so visibility isn't going to be anywhere near as high. You can't just upload that chair to WoodForge. Chemists (or any "hard" science): uhhh, grad school? MBA: yeah, you got me on that one :)
edw519 18y ago
Lawyers were doing pro bono work long before open source. Many firms require associates to do some. Many lawyers I know do this happily.