3 ms·

95%'ish of every professional in every profession are just tired demotivated people who just wanna get whatever done and go back home. They'll just do the bare

95%'ish of every professional in every profession are just tired demotivated people who just wanna get whatever done and go back home. They'll just do the bare minimum that won't get them fired. Programmers are just not an exception to this rule. Nothing to see here.

crazygringo 14y ago
A good waiter will never be 25 times better than a bad waiter. A fast construction worker will never be 25 times faster than a slow one. Programming is fundamentally different.
- notJim 14y ago
  > A fast construction worker will never be 25 times faster than a slow one. I actually sort of doubt this. Fields like construction often require quite a bit on-site problem-solving and quick thinking, simply because making large physical objects stick together in an ordered way is fairly complicated. When you consider also that construction work is a team-oriented profession, it becomes imaginable that the right worker could make the whole team far more effective. And actually, even the waiter example, I'm not sure. A great waiter makes the customer feel like an honored, highly-ranked guest of royalty. A bad one fills people with hatred for the restaurant and anyone involved in it.
- Too 14y ago
  If construction workers are anything like carpenters or other craftsmen this rule might even go to 1:50. Ever had a carpenter fix something in your house? The difference between a good carpenter and a bad one is enormous. A good one comes in and fixes the shit in a day or two. A bad one can delay a small project for months, they don't show up, you can never reach them, the final bill is 5x the quotation, they leave your entire house dirty, they come in, punch a few nails then they have to drive pick something up - on your expense of course. And once it's done it's not better than anything you would have been able to do yourself. Once you find a good carpenter you simply stick to him, attempting to hire a new one is too big of a risk.
- rprasad 14y ago
  A good waiter will probably be 100x better than a bad waiter. If you've never had a truly good waiter though, you'd never know just how good a skilled server can be. A fast construction worker can easily be 100x faster than a slow one. This includes knowing how to do something, when to do it, how to prevent errors that must be corrected, managing physical tools and physical supplies, and conducting inspections. Finally, the difference between a fast construction worker and a slow one is that the fast one shows up the day he's scheduled to show up, and finishes on or before the scheduled completion date. The slow worker shows up a few months later, without all of the necessary supplies, and drags the project along for weeks or months.

crazygringo 14y ago

A good waiter will never be 25 times better than a bad waiter. A fast construction worker will never be 25 times faster than a slow one. Programming is fundamentally different.

notJim 14y ago
> A fast construction worker will never be 25 times faster than a slow one. I actually sort of doubt this. Fields like construction often require quite a bit on-site problem-solving and quick thinking, simply because making large physical objects stick together in an ordered way is fairly complicated. When you consider also that construction work is a team-oriented profession, it becomes imaginable that the right worker could make the whole team far more effective. And actually, even the waiter example, I'm not sure. A great waiter makes the customer feel like an honored, highly-ranked guest of royalty. A bad one fills people with hatred for the restaurant and anyone involved in it.
Too 14y ago
If construction workers are anything like carpenters or other craftsmen this rule might even go to 1:50. Ever had a carpenter fix something in your house? The difference between a good carpenter and a bad one is enormous. A good one comes in and fixes the shit in a day or two. A bad one can delay a small project for months, they don't show up, you can never reach them, the final bill is 5x the quotation, they leave your entire house dirty, they come in, punch a few nails then they have to drive pick something up - on your expense of course. And once it's done it's not better than anything you would have been able to do yourself. Once you find a good carpenter you simply stick to him, attempting to hire a new one is too big of a risk.
rprasad 14y ago
A good waiter will probably be 100x better than a bad waiter. If you've never had a truly good waiter though, you'd never know just how good a skilled server can be. A fast construction worker can easily be 100x faster than a slow one. This includes knowing how to do something, when to do it, how to prevent errors that must be corrected, managing physical tools and physical supplies, and conducting inspections. Finally, the difference between a fast construction worker and a slow one is that the fast one shows up the day he's scheduled to show up, and finishes on or before the scheduled completion date. The slow worker shows up a few months later, without all of the necessary supplies, and drags the project along for weeks or months.