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I actually think the excel example demonstrates that we are unlikely to see that many more programmers in the future. As much as people use excel in their offi

I actually think the excel example demonstrates that we are unlikely to see that many more programmers in the future. As much as people use excel in their offices there is still the idea of the 'excel wizard' who really understands the functions and features of excel. It's actually quite surprising how many people I've encountered who use excel pretty frequently and still don't know many of it's basic features. The fact that there is the idea of 'excel wizard' means that for most people even the programmatic aspect of excel is elusive and uninviting.

rythie 15y ago
I remember in 90s you were called a computer wizard if you how to type a document and print it. Expectations change.
- stevecooperorg 15y ago
  Very true. Anyone who could confidently boot up a computer had a that geek cache/tarnish. Is there an example of expectations changing around programming or automation, specifically? Programming, as opposed to computer literacy. I suppose what I'm wondering is, why is there such a barrier to programming? People are more and more comfortable with complex apps, but not really more liable to fire up some kind of text editor... It's quite a jump to make on your own, I think -- say, going from Excel formulae to VBA macros, or using a WYSIWYG HTML editor to coding JavaScript.
- ojbyrne 15y ago
  However in the 80s I remember if you understood Wordperfect thoroughly (i.e. could do reveal codes and manipulate them) you were called a "secretary." Some form of dumbing down seemed to happen when the GUI came in.
  - rythie 15y ago
    You should see the command line interface my travel agent has (maybe all of them, I don't know), they seem to memorize 100s of airport short codes and use an odd syntax surprisingly quickly for 'non-computer' people.
- pyre 15y ago
  I was called a 'computer wizard' as early as 3 years ago for knowing how to change the wallpaper in Windows, and also for knowing how to use Alt-Tab to switch between windows.
  - stevecooperorg 15y ago
    That is impressive, though ;)
stevecooperorg 15y ago
I think there's a pyramid of automation. Something like 1. Set an alarm on a phone ... 4. Basic Excel formulae 5. Excel Wizard ... 7. JavaScript copy-paste coder ... 10. Professional programmer The original post suggested that there are more and more incentives for people to push themselves up the ladder. I don't think it'll necessarily mean a whole segment of people people jump from 2 to 10; rather, I think peopel trying to get an edge in the job market could shift up a bit, taking the distribution higher. So Excel users will become Excel wizards, word processor users become HTML coders, etc

rythie 15y ago

I remember in 90s you were called a computer wizard if you how to type a document and print it. Expectations change.

stevecooperorg 15y ago
Very true. Anyone who could confidently boot up a computer had a that geek cache/tarnish. Is there an example of expectations changing around programming or automation, specifically? Programming, as opposed to computer literacy. I suppose what I'm wondering is, why is there such a barrier to programming? People are more and more comfortable with complex apps, but not really more liable to fire up some kind of text editor... It's quite a jump to make on your own, I think -- say, going from Excel formulae to VBA macros, or using a WYSIWYG HTML editor to coding JavaScript.
ojbyrne 15y ago
However in the 80s I remember if you understood Wordperfect thoroughly (i.e. could do reveal codes and manipulate them) you were called a "secretary." Some form of dumbing down seemed to happen when the GUI came in.
- rythie 15y ago
  You should see the command line interface my travel agent has (maybe all of them, I don't know), they seem to memorize 100s of airport short codes and use an odd syntax surprisingly quickly for 'non-computer' people.
pyre 15y ago
I was called a 'computer wizard' as early as 3 years ago for knowing how to change the wallpaper in Windows, and also for knowing how to use Alt-Tab to switch between windows.
- stevecooperorg 15y ago
  That is impressive, though ;)

stevecooperorg 15y ago

I think there's a pyramid of automation. Something like 1. Set an alarm on a phone ... 4. Basic Excel formulae 5. Excel Wizard ... 7. JavaScript copy-paste coder ... 10. Professional programmer The original post suggested that there are more and more incentives for people to push themselves up the ladder. I don't think it'll necessarily mean a whole segment of people people jump from 2 to 10; rather, I think peopel trying to get an edge in the job market could shift up a bit, taking the distribution higher. So Excel users will become Excel wizards, word processor users become HTML coders, etc