4 ms·

I may finally have a take worth sharing here: Yes, I think programming culture is immature as in there is lots that isn't yet well understood. I think the enti

I may finally have a take worth sharing here: Yes, I think programming culture is immature as in there is lots that isn't yet well understood. I think the entire industry of software development is the same. But I think this is more a result of how young the field is compared to others. We've been building bridges, roads, etc for hundreds of year, but we're still trying to wrap our heads around software. I think this is what makes it great. Yes, there are egos, and folks who strongly hold points of view that I'm sure history will prove incorrect, but I think that's what makes this fun. To give an analogy - I've noticed that when my friends and I all get into a game (dota, back in ~2008, for instance) at roughly the same time, there's this magical period full of fun and discovery where we're all trying new things and exploring how the rules of the new space translate to outcomes. Sometimes we get suck in a local max and then someone dramatically finds a new mechanic that changes everything. This period is the golden period. This tapers off as we start to know which strategies work and we just continuously use those to win. This is the point where the goals shift from discovery to execution. I've found that playing games past this point is just frustrating for me. So, yes, I think we're still in the wild west era of software development, but I think it's kind of fun! I don't think it'll last forever and it will probably be better overall when it ends, but I'm here for the ride.

alexeldeib 4y ago
I think this is a good model if perhaps narrow. You mention the lifecycle of a single game. But there are many games released over many years. Software is the same. For example we may have reached some level of maturity for building a CRUD app with RoR. But there are still all kinds of innovations happening at the fore. I agree with the overall point though, we’ve been making roads, constructing buildings, doing banking for centuries or millennia, compared to a century or less of software. But those fields aren’t 100% mature either — finance cooks up new derivatives, and we find new materials, techniques for constructing things. In some sense I think foundational principles for tech are already there, but not as mature as other industries due to time.
- nepthar 4y ago
  Good point, thanks for your insight.

alexeldeib 4y ago

I think this is a good model if perhaps narrow. You mention the lifecycle of a single game. But there are many games released over many years. Software is the same. For example we may have reached some level of maturity for building a CRUD app with RoR. But there are still all kinds of innovations happening at the fore. I agree with the overall point though, we’ve been making roads, constructing buildings, doing banking for centuries or millennia, compared to a century or less of software. But those fields aren’t 100% mature either — finance cooks up new derivatives, and we find new materials, techniques for constructing things. In some sense I think foundational principles for tech are already there, but not as mature as other industries due to time.

nepthar 4y ago
Good point, thanks for your insight.