4 ms·

what compels software people to write opinion pieces. like you don't see bakers, mechanics, dentists, accountants writing blog posts like this... Edit: to ever

what compels software people to write opinion pieces. like you don't see bakers, mechanics, dentists, accountants writing blog posts like this... Edit: to everyone responding that there are trade mags - yes SWE has those too (they're called developer conferences). In both categories, someone has to invite you to speak. I'm asking what compels Joe Shmoe SWE to pontificate on things they haven't been asked by anyone to pontificate on.

pissmeself 11mo ago
[dead]
- goatlover 11mo ago
  Some do get their egos stroked on their shows.
SatvikBeri 11mo ago
Accountants certainly do. They've had trade magazines with opinion pieces since well before the internet.
1-more 11mo ago
If they'd had opinion pages at the time, the inventors of nixtamalization would have and should have written something like this.
- tickerticker 11mo ago
  LOL. Have not seen the "nixta" word since 10 years ago when i was researching how to make grits.
lxe 11mo ago
> you don't see bakers, mechanics, dentists, accountants writing things like this... There are literally industry publications full of these.
- almostgotcaught 11mo ago
  Yes and you have to be invited to publish in a place. Meaning at least one other person has to believe your opinion is significant........
  - JadeNB 11mo ago
    > Yes and you have to be invited to publish in a place. Meaning at least one other person has to believe your opinion is significant........ I don't think that this is true. The vast majority of technical math publications, for example, are reviewed, but not invited. And expository, and even technical, math is widely available in fora without any refereeing process (and consequent lack of guarantee of quality).
exe34 11mo ago
Bakers certainly write books and magazines[0] on baking, as well as interminable stories about their childhood. Mechanics: [1]. I could only find one obvious one for dentists: [2]. Somebody else did accountants in the thread. I think it's a human thing, to want to share our opinions, whether or not they are well supported by evidence. I suspect software people write blogs because the tech is easier for them given their day job. [0] https://www.google.com/search?q=blaking+magazine https://www.google.com/search?q=blaking+magazine [1] https://www.google.com/search?q=mechanics+magazines https://www.google.com/search?q=mechanics+magazines [2] https://dentistry.co.uk/dentistry-magazine-january-2023-digital-edition/ https://dentistry.co.uk/dentistry-magazine-january-2023-digi...
WorldMaker 11mo ago
Mathematicians certainly write volumes of opinion pieces. The article you are complaining about starts from the presumption that software could benefit from more mathematical thinking, even if that doesn't explain broader general trends. (But I think it does apply more generally. We refer to it as Computer Science, it is often a branch of Mathematics both historically and today with some Universities still considering it a part of their Math department. Some of the industry's biggest role models/luminaries often considered themselves mathematicians first or second, such as Turing, Church, Dijkstra, Knuth, and more.)
- almostgotcaught 11mo ago
  > Computer Science do we really have to retread this? unless you are employed by a university to perform research (or another research organization), you are not a computer scientist or a mathematician or anything else of that sort. no more so than an accountant is an economist or a carpenter is an architect. > The article you are complaining about starts from the presumption that software reread my comment - at no point did i complain about the article. i'm complaining that SWEs have overinflated senses of self which compel them to write such articles.
  - WorldMaker 11mo ago
    Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it (poorly). Same for anyone doing software that entirely ignores Computer Science. You are missing core skills and reinventing well known wheels when you could be busy building smarter things. > no more so than an accountant is an economist or a carpenter is an architect I know many accountants who would claim you can't be an a good accountant without being an economist. Arguably that's most of the course load of an MBA in a nutshell. I don't know a carpenter who would claim to be an architect, usually when carpentry happens is after architecture has been done, but I know plenty of carpenters that claim to be artists and/or artisans (depending on how you see the difference), that take pride in their craft and understand the aesthetic underpinnings. > reread my comment - at no point did i complain about the article. i'm complaining that SWEs have overinflated senses of self which compel them to write such articles. You chose which article to post your complaint to. The context of your comment is most directly complaining about this specific article. That's how HN works. If you didn't read the article and feel like just generically complaining about the "over-inflated senses of self" in the software industry, perhaps you should be reading some forum that isn't HN?
dinkleberg 11mo ago
What an insane statement. What compels anyone to write an opinion piece? They have an opinion and want to share it! Why in god's name should someone have to be invited to share their opinion, on their own website no less.
- almostgotcaught 11mo ago
  Have you really never heard the expression "opinions are like ...." or did you not understand the point of the expression?
constantcrying 11mo ago
>I'm asking what compels Joe Shmoe SWE to pontificate on things they haven't been asked by anyone to pontificate on. The Internet is absolutely full of this. This is purely your own bias here, for any of the trades you mentioned try looking. You will find Videos, podcast and blogs within minutes. People love talking about their work, no matter their trade. They love giving their opinions.
alfiedotwtf 11mo ago
lol, your original comment is you pontificating
TrackerFF 11mo ago
You're getting a lot of flak for this, but I think it is a legitim question to ask. I have many different hobbies, and have worked in different industries, but software development / programming is sort of unique in how much people discuss it online. My takes are: 1) There are a lot of IT workers in the world, and they're all online natives. So naturally they will discuss ideas, problems, etc. online. It is simply a huge community, compared to other professions. 2) Programming specifically is for many both a hobby and a profession. So being passionate about it compels many people to discuss it, just like others will do about their own hobbies. 3) Software is a very fast-moving area, and very diverse, so you will get many different takes on the same problems. 4) Posting is cheap. The second you've learned about something, like static vs dynamic typing, you can voice your opinion. And the opinions can range from beginners to CS experts, both with legit takes on the topic. 5) It is incredibly easy to reach out to other developers, with the various platforms and aggregators. In some fields it is almost impossible to connect / interact with other professionals in your field, unless you can get past the gatekeepers. And the list goes on.

pissmeself 11mo ago

[dead]

goatlover 11mo ago
Some do get their egos stroked on their shows.

SatvikBeri 11mo ago

Accountants certainly do. They've had trade magazines with opinion pieces since well before the internet.

1-more 11mo ago

If they'd had opinion pages at the time, the inventors of nixtamalization would have and should have written something like this.

tickerticker 11mo ago
LOL. Have not seen the "nixta" word since 10 years ago when i was researching how to make grits.

lxe 11mo ago

> you don't see bakers, mechanics, dentists, accountants writing things like this... There are literally industry publications full of these.

almostgotcaught 11mo ago
Yes and you have to be invited to publish in a place. Meaning at least one other person has to believe your opinion is significant........
- JadeNB 11mo ago
  > Yes and you have to be invited to publish in a place. Meaning at least one other person has to believe your opinion is significant........ I don't think that this is true. The vast majority of technical math publications, for example, are reviewed, but not invited. And expository, and even technical, math is widely available in fora without any refereeing process (and consequent lack of guarantee of quality).

exe34 11mo ago

Bakers certainly write books and magazines[0] on baking, as well as interminable stories about their childhood. Mechanics: [1]. I could only find one obvious one for dentists: [2]. Somebody else did accountants in the thread. I think it's a human thing, to want to share our opinions, whether or not they are well supported by evidence. I suspect software people write blogs because the tech is easier for them given their day job. [0] https://www.google.com/search?q=blaking+magazine https://www.google.com/search?q=blaking+magazine [1] https://www.google.com/search?q=mechanics+magazines https://www.google.com/search?q=mechanics+magazines [2] https://dentistry.co.uk/dentistry-magazine-january-2023-digital-edition/ https://dentistry.co.uk/dentistry-magazine-january-2023-digi...

WorldMaker 11mo ago

Mathematicians certainly write volumes of opinion pieces. The article you are complaining about starts from the presumption that software could benefit from more mathematical thinking, even if that doesn't explain broader general trends. (But I think it does apply more generally. We refer to it as Computer Science, it is often a branch of Mathematics both historically and today with some Universities still considering it a part of their Math department. Some of the industry's biggest role models/luminaries often considered themselves mathematicians first or second, such as Turing, Church, Dijkstra, Knuth, and more.)

almostgotcaught 11mo ago
> Computer Science do we really have to retread this? unless you are employed by a university to perform research (or another research organization), you are not a computer scientist or a mathematician or anything else of that sort. no more so than an accountant is an economist or a carpenter is an architect. > The article you are complaining about starts from the presumption that software reread my comment - at no point did i complain about the article. i'm complaining that SWEs have overinflated senses of self which compel them to write such articles.
- WorldMaker 11mo ago
  Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it (poorly). Same for anyone doing software that entirely ignores Computer Science. You are missing core skills and reinventing well known wheels when you could be busy building smarter things. > no more so than an accountant is an economist or a carpenter is an architect I know many accountants who would claim you can't be an a good accountant without being an economist. Arguably that's most of the course load of an MBA in a nutshell. I don't know a carpenter who would claim to be an architect, usually when carpentry happens is after architecture has been done, but I know plenty of carpenters that claim to be artists and/or artisans (depending on how you see the difference), that take pride in their craft and understand the aesthetic underpinnings. > reread my comment - at no point did i complain about the article. i'm complaining that SWEs have overinflated senses of self which compel them to write such articles. You chose which article to post your complaint to. The context of your comment is most directly complaining about this specific article. That's how HN works. If you didn't read the article and feel like just generically complaining about the "over-inflated senses of self" in the software industry, perhaps you should be reading some forum that isn't HN?

dinkleberg 11mo ago

What an insane statement. What compels anyone to write an opinion piece? They have an opinion and want to share it! Why in god's name should someone have to be invited to share their opinion, on their own website no less.

almostgotcaught 11mo ago
Have you really never heard the expression "opinions are like ...." or did you not understand the point of the expression?

constantcrying 11mo ago

>I'm asking what compels Joe Shmoe SWE to pontificate on things they haven't been asked by anyone to pontificate on. The Internet is absolutely full of this. This is purely your own bias here, for any of the trades you mentioned try looking. You will find Videos, podcast and blogs within minutes. People love talking about their work, no matter their trade. They love giving their opinions.

alfiedotwtf 11mo ago

lol, your original comment is you pontificating

TrackerFF 11mo ago

You're getting a lot of flak for this, but I think it is a legitim question to ask. I have many different hobbies, and have worked in different industries, but software development / programming is sort of unique in how much people discuss it online. My takes are: 1) There are a lot of IT workers in the world, and they're all online natives. So naturally they will discuss ideas, problems, etc. online. It is simply a huge community, compared to other professions. 2) Programming specifically is for many both a hobby and a profession. So being passionate about it compels many people to discuss it, just like others will do about their own hobbies. 3) Software is a very fast-moving area, and very diverse, so you will get many different takes on the same problems. 4) Posting is cheap. The second you've learned about something, like static vs dynamic typing, you can voice your opinion. And the opinions can range from beginners to CS experts, both with legit takes on the topic. 5) It is incredibly easy to reach out to other developers, with the various platforms and aggregators. In some fields it is almost impossible to connect / interact with other professionals in your field, unless you can get past the gatekeepers. And the list goes on.