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> It also frustrates me to no end that people are so deeply incurious. This seems to only happen in tech This doesn't match my observations. In many fields, tr

> It also frustrates me to no end that people are so deeply incurious. This seems to only happen in tech This doesn't match my observations. In many fields, training is limited and hides the details. We train workers to repeat specific tasks and they excel at them. But they don't have conceptual understanding. Any explanation of why things are done the way they are is surface-level. You can see it when a procedure fails for some reason. They way to deal with is to 1) do basic checks 2) try again and if it still fails 3) delegate to someone else. Nobody is going to troubleshoot or optimize tasks unless that's their main job. It happens in construction, in the kitchens, on the assembly lines, and in the offices. It happens because it gets the job done.

sgarland 2y ago
You're right. My wording was flat-out wrong, and I apologize. A more accurate sentiment (IMO) would be "that this happens in tech is baffling, considering..."
marcosdumay 2y ago
Yes, but in most fields, conceptual understanding doesn't matter for most tasks. That's the problem with software. A brick-layer doesn't need to understand structural stability, but in software every task is structure validation, and people expect brick-layers to be productive.
- phatskat 2y ago
  > A brick-layer doesn't need to understand structural stability Maybe a “junior” brick layer doesn’t need to, as much as a junior engineer doesn’t need to understand the ins and outs of their language. But a senior brick layer, or an architect, needs to understand more of the details so that they can set out the plan for the junior.
  - marcosdumay 2y ago
    Eh... What language do brick layers work with? You mean their spoken language? Also: "a senior brick layer, or an architect" those are complete different professions.
    - alsetmusic 2y ago
      You’re shitting on blue collar people. It isn’t a good thing.
hinkley 2y ago
There are a lot of developers who learn how to do a task and never question whether the task could be automated, either away or to reduce errors. They just do the same mundane task four hours a week in perpetuity. That’s the part that frustrates me. Your job is to automate things. So why aren’t you automating things?

sgarland 2y ago

You're right. My wording was flat-out wrong, and I apologize. A more accurate sentiment (IMO) would be "that this happens in tech is baffling, considering..."

marcosdumay 2y ago

Yes, but in most fields, conceptual understanding doesn't matter for most tasks. That's the problem with software. A brick-layer doesn't need to understand structural stability, but in software every task is structure validation, and people expect brick-layers to be productive.

phatskat 2y ago
> A brick-layer doesn't need to understand structural stability Maybe a “junior” brick layer doesn’t need to, as much as a junior engineer doesn’t need to understand the ins and outs of their language. But a senior brick layer, or an architect, needs to understand more of the details so that they can set out the plan for the junior.
- marcosdumay 2y ago
  Eh... What language do brick layers work with? You mean their spoken language? Also: "a senior brick layer, or an architect" those are complete different professions.
  - alsetmusic 2y ago
    You’re shitting on blue collar people. It isn’t a good thing.

hinkley 2y ago

There are a lot of developers who learn how to do a task and never question whether the task could be automated, either away or to reduce errors. They just do the same mundane task four hours a week in perpetuity. That’s the part that frustrates me. Your job is to automate things. So why aren’t you automating things?