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Good point about putting up with crap. I've definitely made that mistake. And it is worth confirming that you shouldn't start your own company just because the

Good point about putting up with crap. I've definitely made that mistake. And it is worth confirming that you shouldn't start your own company just because the coffee at your current jobs is crap. But I have to disagree on clean code. I've seen Uncle Bob speak, he is very convincing but 90% of the time he's preaching to the choir. As hard as it is to believe there are plenty of places that will actively prevent you from turning out anything other then crap. It's hard to image if you have not worked in it yourself, but it definitely exists. And obviously ditch digging isn't the only option, you could teach programming at a local community college or whatever. But coding 8+ hrs at work and then coding some more at home is something I've never been able to do.

azanar 18y ago
Sometimes the choir needs to be preached to, though. It helps to hear someone else put into words what one might be thinking intuitively. It also helps to know that more people are thinking the same thing than any individual might give credit for. The flip-side of this is that people like Robert are not just preaching a dreamland ideal that people should aspire toward but accept up front they'll never be able to reach. The expectation is that people take what is being preached and put it into practice; but that's not what I usually see. I normally see people who will arm-chair philosophize about, but will either succumb to peer pressure or fear before actually pushing for what they believe is a good thing. At that point, the believe is completely useless. The upshot of this is that places that actively prevent people from turning out anything but crap need to be actively prevented from turning out anything, if we expect conditions to change at all. But it's a risky position to take, and most people seem under the impression that the thing it puts most at risk is the livelihood of their families. While I think that risk assessment is melodramatic, I will admit it does put one's social class at risk, which ties directly into the relative creature comforts of their family. Knowing why people prioritize this latter matter so high is something I've been struggling with for a little while, but maybe it's just because I lack the context of a family to support.

azanar 18y ago

Sometimes the choir needs to be preached to, though. It helps to hear someone else put into words what one might be thinking intuitively. It also helps to know that more people are thinking the same thing than any individual might give credit for. The flip-side of this is that people like Robert are not just preaching a dreamland ideal that people should aspire toward but accept up front they'll never be able to reach. The expectation is that people take what is being preached and put it into practice; but that's not what I usually see. I normally see people who will arm-chair philosophize about, but will either succumb to peer pressure or fear before actually pushing for what they believe is a good thing. At that point, the believe is completely useless. The upshot of this is that places that actively prevent people from turning out anything but crap need to be actively prevented from turning out anything, if we expect conditions to change at all. But it's a risky position to take, and most people seem under the impression that the thing it puts most at risk is the livelihood of their families. While I think that risk assessment is melodramatic, I will admit it does put one's social class at risk, which ties directly into the relative creature comforts of their family. Knowing why people prioritize this latter matter so high is something I've been struggling with for a little while, but maybe it's just because I lack the context of a family to support.