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Poverty alone doesn't mean getting your brains to do brain stuff. Most devs don't live in poverty, but most devs also aren't doing innovative work. They spend

Poverty alone doesn't mean getting your brains to do brain stuff. Most devs don't live in poverty, but most devs also aren't doing innovative work. They spend their limited intellectual stamina trying to make the boss richer, not modeling out a cancer detection algorithm.

californical 4y ago
But even working on a simple CRUD app can push an industry forward. There is so much more incremental progress to be made, which pushes the economy upwards, than just the “big name” hot ideas (like cancer). There are still so many low hanging fruit that even simple technology can improve
- BlargMcLarg 4y ago
  Yes, a lot of "simple CRUD apps" can push an industry forward. A lot of simple stuff can also devolve into downright predatory practices which, despite making money, are anything but progress in the grander scheme of things. There's also the argument tons of "simple CRUD apps" exist because of a focus on the short term, rather than the long term. Or they exist to fill a "perceived hole" which is really just bureaucracy being bureaucracy. To name a different example, management has absolutely exploded. It's arguable whether this explosion has freed up brains more, or instead sucked up brain power. Meanwhile, most management jobs do pay well, to the point it's hard to consider a manager living in poverty. Personally, I believe we could easily slash management in half, permanently destroying those jobs and the accompanied bureaucracy to free up the brains, but that would result in those individuals having to compete for different jobs, maybe even less desirable jobs which put them back into poverty. Regardless, the point is poverty and freeing up brains for innovation aren't necessarily correlated or even causal. They can even be negatively correlated. Solving poverty isn't the only requirement to free up brains, if that is a societal goal. That's all.
- taneq 4y ago
  This is what so many techie people don't get. The end user doesn't give a FUCK if you're 100% memory safe or you use a RESTful API or your app is HIJINX(TM) COMPLIANT or whatever. They want a button they can click which fixes their problem. If you give them that, then they win, so you win. 99% of the actual, serious, important problems right now are really really simple and have really dumb simple solutions. Not always the exactly optimal solution but there's one there that will do 90% of what anyone cares about, which we can do right now, but haven't yet.
mattnewton 4y ago
Presumably they make their boss richer by providing value to someone paying their boss. Sure, some industries are probably parasitic or primarily extractive but the whole main idea of capitalism is than it can drive improvements for consumers, and for the people of a lot of countries this has largely panned out?
300bps 4y ago
Most devs...spend their limited intellectual stamina trying to make the boss richer I think it's great that devs have a choice. They can work at a company and have a relatively steady paycheck with benefits or they can make more and go off on their own and assume more risk.
taneq 4y ago
Devil's advocate: You're begging the question that "making the boss richer" doesn't also equal "doing innovative work".

californical 4y ago

But even working on a simple CRUD app can push an industry forward. There is so much more incremental progress to be made, which pushes the economy upwards, than just the “big name” hot ideas (like cancer). There are still so many low hanging fruit that even simple technology can improve

BlargMcLarg 4y ago
Yes, a lot of "simple CRUD apps" can push an industry forward. A lot of simple stuff can also devolve into downright predatory practices which, despite making money, are anything but progress in the grander scheme of things. There's also the argument tons of "simple CRUD apps" exist because of a focus on the short term, rather than the long term. Or they exist to fill a "perceived hole" which is really just bureaucracy being bureaucracy. To name a different example, management has absolutely exploded. It's arguable whether this explosion has freed up brains more, or instead sucked up brain power. Meanwhile, most management jobs do pay well, to the point it's hard to consider a manager living in poverty. Personally, I believe we could easily slash management in half, permanently destroying those jobs and the accompanied bureaucracy to free up the brains, but that would result in those individuals having to compete for different jobs, maybe even less desirable jobs which put them back into poverty. Regardless, the point is poverty and freeing up brains for innovation aren't necessarily correlated or even causal. They can even be negatively correlated. Solving poverty isn't the only requirement to free up brains, if that is a societal goal. That's all.
taneq 4y ago
This is what so many techie people don't get. The end user doesn't give a FUCK if you're 100% memory safe or you use a RESTful API or your app is HIJINX(TM) COMPLIANT or whatever. They want a button they can click which fixes their problem. If you give them that, then they win, so you win. 99% of the actual, serious, important problems right now are really really simple and have really dumb simple solutions. Not always the exactly optimal solution but there's one there that will do 90% of what anyone cares about, which we can do right now, but haven't yet.

mattnewton 4y ago

Presumably they make their boss richer by providing value to someone paying their boss. Sure, some industries are probably parasitic or primarily extractive but the whole main idea of capitalism is than it can drive improvements for consumers, and for the people of a lot of countries this has largely panned out?

300bps 4y ago

Most devs...spend their limited intellectual stamina trying to make the boss richer I think it's great that devs have a choice. They can work at a company and have a relatively steady paycheck with benefits or they can make more and go off on their own and assume more risk.

taneq 4y ago

Devil's advocate: You're begging the question that "making the boss richer" doesn't also equal "doing innovative work".