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The metaphor I've been using lately is that programming is like art. Anyone can doodle, it doesn't have to be anything more than a line on a page. But to paint
by tmnstr85 6y ago
The metaphor I've been using lately is that programming is like art. Anyone can doodle, it doesn't have to be anything more than a line on a page. But to paint a masterpiece, you're probably going to need to know the inner workings of some language. We don't spend enough time talking about the correlation between programming and the arts. The metaphor is extendable to all arts, like music - symphonies, harmonization, cadence etc. I think if we emphasize this more, we'd find another opening for people to go deeper than the doodle. I worry about lack of access to the arts, it degrades the opportunity for deeper and more meaningful computer programming for future generations.
- RHSeeger 6y agoI've always considered it more related to craftsmanship, like woodworking, etc. Admittedly, that is also an art form, but of a specific type. Anyone can figure out / learn how to build a table. But it takes a lot more to build a _good_ table or, better yet, one that will last for a long time, or one that will best suit the needs of the person it's for, etc. The skill set includes knowing what the different pieces you can use are (dove tail vs other corner connectors, etc), taking the time to plan out what pieces would be best, etc.
- SketchySeaBeast 6y agoThe metaphor goes further than that - you're not being paid to paint a masterpiece, you're being paid to be part of a 5 person team repainting the sistine chapel. That again is a totally different skillset.
- thrower123 6y agoMost of us aren't even doing that. We're slapping on a new coat of Stonington Grey on the walls and touching up the trim of apartment buildings...
- musingsole 6y agoIt's important to take pride in your work but also to have a crystal clear image of what that work is supposed to be. Mistaking an apartment renovation for building the Burj Khalifa is the source of so much heartache.
- radus 6y agoToday we're renovating an apartment. Tomorrow, maybe we'll want to build it into the Burj Khalifa.
- agumonkey 6y agoThere were a few essays about art, paul graham did one (painting ?) also i think it was dick gabriel who had a blog about poetry and programming. The aesthetics of right abstractions are at play that's for sure.
- watwut 6y agoFunny thing, that is literally what I was told about drawing realistically - anyone healthy can learn to draw realistically. These days, there is whole pedagogy on how to do it, you "just" have to work hard and follow instruction.
- ProZsolt 6y agoPaul Graham wrote an entire book on this called Hackers & Painters
- bob1029 6y agoSoftware as art is the most apt analogy I have encountered so far. If you want to build nuclear reactors, sky scrapers or semiconductor manufacturing lines, go to college for 4+ years and follow the traditional paths. If you want to compose a symphony or non-trivial software, skip the college and go sit in front of your instrument(s) for as long as you can stand to every day. To call programming "Software Engineering" and building coursework around that term would be similar to developing coursework around "Music Engineering". The rigor of science/engineering (while certainly at the foundations of everything) distracts from higher-order and more human understanding once you get past the basics. The entire game with software is managing complexity in a way that is sustainable for the participants. Effectively, this is what art seeks to accomplish as well. Capturing many raw emotions/ideas and integrating them into a single solution.