4 ms·
The general context is hiring managers under-/dis-valuing writing ability for technical people, and Patrick countering that a significant part of the value of t
by AceJohnny2 5y ago
The general context is hiring managers under-/dis-valuing writing ability for technical people, and Patrick countering that a significant part of the value of their team is him , who is known for his writing.
This is shocking to me, as I highly value good communication skills, and I assumed my industry did as well. For example, I think the main reason Rust is as popular today is thanks to Carol Nichols' & Steve Klabnik's excellent writing, and Steve's unrelenting advocacy (be it talks, blog posts, or online comments). The impact of a technology is nothing if it can't be communicated well.
I've been working in improving my technical writing, contributing significantly to our team's docs, and I have more respect for my colleagues who do the same.
Have other people experienced this scorn for writing that Dan Luu refers to?
- nitrogen 5y agoHave other people experienced this scorn for writing that Dan Luu refers to? Sort of. At a point >10 years into my career I had a junior dev ask me to remove my method comments during code review because they might become out of date some day.
- lolinder 5y ago> Patrick countering that a significant part of the value of their team is him , who is known for his writing. Just to clarify, I don't think he's saying that 7% of their value is him specifically, I think he's saying that 7% of Stripe's engineers are there because of his blog. He's replying to Dan Luu's note about recruiting fees and how valuable a popular blog can be.
- MattGaiser 5y agoI personally downplay any writing/organizational skills I have, as it always seems to count against or be used against me. It means you get stuck with non-technical work/documentation (which everyone wants but nobody values), are given errands to review copy for the product manager. With no leadership aspirations, that is career incoherent work for me.
- bryanrasmussen 5y agoThere is the old aphorism that those who can do, and those who can't teach. Writing is a form of teaching.
- skeeter2020 5y ago>> Writing is a form of teaching. Maybe, though it can also be a way of learning. You crystalize & organize your thoughts with words. Regardless, the aphorism is old, tired and just plain wrong. Both writing and teaching are amazingly valuable skills.
- bryanrasmussen 5y agothanks for morally correcting me (and to the others who downvoted), however as the comment I replied to asked if anyone had ever observed that kind of contempt for learning in other contexts it would be a reasonable interpretation that I was providing an example I had observed. There was nothing in the comment that should have caused anyone to think I was a true believer in the aphorism.
- Dylan16807 5y ago> There was nothing in the comment that should have caused anyone to think I was a true believer in the aphorism. Even so, saying "Writing is a form of teaching." needs more justification, especially in this context. Leaving that half-connected and confusing invites a downvote or two.
- bryanrasmussen 5y agoThe last sentence of the post I replied to was: "Have other people experienced this scorn for writing that Dan Luu refers to?" Frankly anyone who finds my reply half-connected and confusing is perhaps not very good at the skill that writing is meant to serve. Or perhaps they're tired, or otherwise preoccupied. But reflection should enable them to see that as being the case.