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> 90% of engineers are not inventing new things ... That raises the question of just how much of a difference you need for something to be an invention. Merely
by throwaway101157 1y ago
> 90% of engineers are not inventing new things ...
That raises the question of just how much of a difference you need for something to be an invention. Merely copying another program is not invention, while coming up with and implementing TCP definitely is. But is implementing another instance of a CRUD app invention? Is configuring a server invention? What about if the configuration is written by a script? The dividing line seems harder to pin down than one might at first think.
- GMoromisato 1y agoIs another CRUD app any different than another static-force analysis on a house beam? How many engineering decisions are made by software running the math and spitting out numbers? I agree that there are degrees of invention in both, but my argument (which is, admittedly, emotional in nature) is that there are more unique decisions in software, mostly because if you don't need to decide--if there is already an algorithm for it--then you can just plug in an existing library/app. You only need a programmer when you can't just run an existing app. Therefore, all programmers create things that don't already exist. That's the definition of invention. I know I'm exaggerating here, but it's less of an exaggeration than saying that programmers are "poised to wreck the entire world".