4 ms·

That's right. Plenty of great software has been developed by the "lock a smart, creative, determined nerd who's _obsessed_ with his/her product in a garage for

That's right. Plenty of great software has been developed by the "lock a smart, creative, determined nerd who's _obsessed_ with his/her product in a garage for a month" methodology. Folks who have bought into the vision of the project and are motivated to "do it right, make it good" have a much higher chance of a successful product than a team who are attending the religious ceremonies and cargo-culting. These methodologies are like painted-lines and highway-signs; they can be great guidelines, but ultimately the driver has to want to avoid getting into an accident and aware enough to realize blindly following the lines/signs won't achieve that on its own. Edit: *I use "nerd" here as a term of affection, not derogatorily. I proudly call myself a nerd. :)

ROTMetro 4y ago
I gotta gatekeep this. When did nerd and geek switch places? Since the 90s, geeks and nerds are two totally different things. Geek: a person who is knowledgeable about and obsessively interested in a particular subject, especially one that is technical or of specialist or niche interest. "a computer geek" I'm a proud geek, but after bullying as a kid calling me a nerd is fighting words. A geek nowadays socially ranks above the people that tried to stand above others by calling them nerds, turning labels into strength.
- detaro 4y ago
  I was always told that if you can define the difference you're probably both.
- daveslash 4y ago
  Looks like maybe you got some downvotes - but not from me. Geek & Nerd can be sensitive labels for the likes of folk who hang out here on HN. I wasn't trying to start a flame-war. But I'm happy to discuss it further. Speaking for myself (and myself only), I'm proud of both labels and more-or-less treat them as interchangeable in regards to usage by the general public. Though, I have my-own thoughts on the differences. I take neither as an insult or fighting-word unless, of course, it's obviously being hurled as one, in which case it's not the word, per-se, it's the antagonist as a whole...
- userbinator 4y ago
  When I hear "geek" all I think of now is Geek Squad, i.e. IT.
Raidion 4y ago
Plenty of software that doesn't actually solve the goal and ends up being unmaintainable also comes out of locking a bunch of smart people in a room. You make it too complicated, no one can modify it without tons of domain knowledge, you make it too abstract and flexible and the abstraction leaks and the flexibility means a ton of extra time spent. You can really only lock devs in a room if you have very very clear product expectations and a longer term vision that allows people to add flexibility where it's needed for future projects. This simply won't happen with most companies because that's HARD.
stickfigure 4y ago
If your development methodology requires smart, creative, determined geniuses who are obsessed with your product... you will not be able to scale your organization beyond the founding team.

ROTMetro 4y ago

I gotta gatekeep this. When did nerd and geek switch places? Since the 90s, geeks and nerds are two totally different things. Geek: a person who is knowledgeable about and obsessively interested in a particular subject, especially one that is technical or of specialist or niche interest. "a computer geek" I'm a proud geek, but after bullying as a kid calling me a nerd is fighting words. A geek nowadays socially ranks above the people that tried to stand above others by calling them nerds, turning labels into strength.

detaro 4y ago
I was always told that if you can define the difference you're probably both.
daveslash 4y ago
Looks like maybe you got some downvotes - but not from me. Geek & Nerd can be sensitive labels for the likes of folk who hang out here on HN. I wasn't trying to start a flame-war. But I'm happy to discuss it further. Speaking for myself (and myself only), I'm proud of both labels and more-or-less treat them as interchangeable in regards to usage by the general public. Though, I have my-own thoughts on the differences. I take neither as an insult or fighting-word unless, of course, it's obviously being hurled as one, in which case it's not the word, per-se, it's the antagonist as a whole...
userbinator 4y ago
When I hear "geek" all I think of now is Geek Squad, i.e. IT.

Raidion 4y ago

Plenty of software that doesn't actually solve the goal and ends up being unmaintainable also comes out of locking a bunch of smart people in a room. You make it too complicated, no one can modify it without tons of domain knowledge, you make it too abstract and flexible and the abstraction leaks and the flexibility means a ton of extra time spent. You can really only lock devs in a room if you have very very clear product expectations and a longer term vision that allows people to add flexibility where it's needed for future projects. This simply won't happen with most companies because that's HARD.

stickfigure 4y ago

If your development methodology requires smart, creative, determined geniuses who are obsessed with your product... you will not be able to scale your organization beyond the founding team.