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The tone of the article was so tongue-in-cheek, that I am surprised by the seriousness and vitriol in the comments. Obviously, to me and the author at least, t
by andrewljohnson 14y ago
The tone of the article was so tongue-in-cheek, that I am surprised by the seriousness and vitriol in the comments.
Obviously, to me and the author at least, this isn't like an actual guide to being a good programmer - this is a semi-autobiographical, kidding essay about the subject.
That's how I read it at least - I expected to agree with some points and not with others, and empathize with a fellow soldier. It tweaks a lot of whiskers because he invariably badmouths something you like or props up something you hate. For me, I was scoffing when he said tabs vs. spaces wasn't important.
- prg318 14y agoPoe's law [1] absolutely applies here and is likely why commenters here are so polarized about this article. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law
- nollidge 14y agotongue-in-cheek
- bargl 14y agoI agree, I laughed a few times while reading. A lot of the points are insightful in some regards and just blatantly wrong in others. Going to thinkgeek doesn't make you a good programmer, it just makes you a nerd. A lot of what he wrote categorizes people into boxes, we tend to like boxes, but not to be put into them... Some of his points, if abstracted, are very insightful.
- onemorepassword 14y agoI think you'll find that HN, and our profession in general, has a disproportionate amount of people with a strong tendency to take things very literally and overlook the intended humor. Especially when it comes to matters they take very seriously.