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Programming is difficult because people are profiting from the difficultability of it. For as long as you can give someone a money-making machine, but say that

Programming is difficult because people are profiting from the difficultability of it. For as long as you can give someone a money-making machine, but say that it will be 'a lot of esoteric work' to make it, grease it, keep it clean .. there will be development work. By the very nature of the business, if you are not improving something, some human-describable human activity, by using esoteric magic, you're probably not that good. If you're making it indescribable in the process of making improvement, perhaps you've been in the business a long enough time to know, the only difference is whether the customer can be bothered to learn the language, or not. Anyone can 'program computers'; computers are a universal language.

rom16384 13y ago
Actually I think programming is profitable because of two things: * Not everyone can program * Of those that could program, only a small part of them *want* to program The combination of these two conditions limits the availability of programmers.
tenpoundhammer 13y ago
Anyone can learn plumbing, framing, or drywall too, that doesn't mean we should all learn to do everything we need done. Furthermore it's not feasible or practical for anyone to be a master of everything. This view point overlooks the fact that people don't have infinite time and resources for learning and/or creating stuff. It also ignores the role of specialization.
- cracell 13y ago
  Why not? I used to think that specialization was the right path to go on. Learn everything about just a few things. But as I've gotten older I've realized that most skills have far reaching applications beyond the specific task. Learning how to garden has improved my code structure and how I think about relationships and similarities between things from learning about the relationships between different plant species, families and cultures. As well as looking at how they grow (it's very functional). My point being that a lot skills overlap and I think we can master far more than we give ourselves credit for. But because we think it's not feasible few of us open ourselves to the possibility.
  - elclanrs 13y ago
    I agree. I think music and sports consciously impact your code as well. Skills with a mix of creativity and endurance are going to affect the way you think about problems, in general.
Iftheshoefits 13y ago
> Programming is difficult because people are profiting from the "difficultability" of it That's backwards. Not "anyone" can program computers. Anyone can try, but most will fail. Just like "anyone" can "do math" or "do chemistry" or "do anything", but most will fail. The reason programming is lucrative, whether as an employee or entrepeneur exploiting programmers' labor (or supplying their own technical labor), is exactly because not everybody can program well enough to meet a market need. It's a curious thing, this misplaced, or in some cases faux-humility about programming, or any other academic/intellectual endeavour. It dovetails very well with certain business interests who would love for nothing more than programming to be as commoditized as, say, janitorial work is. These interests are definitely getting their wish in some areas (e.g. web/mobile development).
- invalidOrTaken 13y ago
  >It's a curious thing, this misplaced, or in some cases faux-humility about programming, or any other academic/intellectual endeavour. Programming rewards the rational, and compilers and bugs have no sense of survival that would make them relent in the face of intimidation. So programmers deal with compilers and computers on their terms: the unfailingly rational. Humans are not computers. Humans do respond to intimidation---or rather, they respond to relative intimidation. Programmers are carrying tweezers in the fencing societies that corporations are.
- supersystem 13y ago
  I see programming mostly as janitorial work. Why? Because it's mostly complex rather than hard. Of course "real programmers" are upset with RoR jockeys when it turns out businesses pay for delivered value rather than technical complexity.
  - Iftheshoefits 13y ago
    Janitorial work isn't "complex" in any way that approximates programming--even the programming that "RoR jockeys" do. If the two were on the same level of complexity, "RoR jockeys" wouldn't be paid as well as they are. And, yes "real programmers" earn more than "RoR jockeys," because what "real programmers" do is both more complex and harder. But I think calling them "RoR jockeys" or implying they aren't "real programmers" is both wrong and juvenile. Otherwise I don't think you've written anything that conflicts substantially with what I wrote.
gnaritas 13y ago
> Anyone can 'program computers' No they can't. Anyone can try, most will fail, because few are suited for it.
lutusp 13y ago
> Anyone can 'program computers'; computers are a universal language. If that were true, programmers would be making minimum wage and would be ranked alongside people who wash cars.
- fit2rule 13y ago
  And that is in fact how it is in many parts of the world.
rbanffy 13y ago
> Anyone can 'program computers' Often with the most hilarious results.

rom16384 13y ago

Actually I think programming is profitable because of two things: * Not everyone can program * Of those that could program, only a small part of them *want* to program The combination of these two conditions limits the availability of programmers.

tenpoundhammer 13y ago

Anyone can learn plumbing, framing, or drywall too, that doesn't mean we should all learn to do everything we need done. Furthermore it's not feasible or practical for anyone to be a master of everything. This view point overlooks the fact that people don't have infinite time and resources for learning and/or creating stuff. It also ignores the role of specialization.

cracell 13y ago
Why not? I used to think that specialization was the right path to go on. Learn everything about just a few things. But as I've gotten older I've realized that most skills have far reaching applications beyond the specific task. Learning how to garden has improved my code structure and how I think about relationships and similarities between things from learning about the relationships between different plant species, families and cultures. As well as looking at how they grow (it's very functional). My point being that a lot skills overlap and I think we can master far more than we give ourselves credit for. But because we think it's not feasible few of us open ourselves to the possibility.
- elclanrs 13y ago
  I agree. I think music and sports consciously impact your code as well. Skills with a mix of creativity and endurance are going to affect the way you think about problems, in general.

Iftheshoefits 13y ago

> Programming is difficult because people are profiting from the "difficultability" of it That's backwards. Not "anyone" can program computers. Anyone can try, but most will fail. Just like "anyone" can "do math" or "do chemistry" or "do anything", but most will fail. The reason programming is lucrative, whether as an employee or entrepeneur exploiting programmers' labor (or supplying their own technical labor), is exactly because not everybody can program well enough to meet a market need. It's a curious thing, this misplaced, or in some cases faux-humility about programming, or any other academic/intellectual endeavour. It dovetails very well with certain business interests who would love for nothing more than programming to be as commoditized as, say, janitorial work is. These interests are definitely getting their wish in some areas (e.g. web/mobile development).

invalidOrTaken 13y ago
>It's a curious thing, this misplaced, or in some cases faux-humility about programming, or any other academic/intellectual endeavour. Programming rewards the rational, and compilers and bugs have no sense of survival that would make them relent in the face of intimidation. So programmers deal with compilers and computers on their terms: the unfailingly rational. Humans are not computers. Humans do respond to intimidation---or rather, they respond to relative intimidation. Programmers are carrying tweezers in the fencing societies that corporations are.
supersystem 13y ago
I see programming mostly as janitorial work. Why? Because it's mostly complex rather than hard. Of course "real programmers" are upset with RoR jockeys when it turns out businesses pay for delivered value rather than technical complexity.
- Iftheshoefits 13y ago
  Janitorial work isn't "complex" in any way that approximates programming--even the programming that "RoR jockeys" do. If the two were on the same level of complexity, "RoR jockeys" wouldn't be paid as well as they are. And, yes "real programmers" earn more than "RoR jockeys," because what "real programmers" do is both more complex and harder. But I think calling them "RoR jockeys" or implying they aren't "real programmers" is both wrong and juvenile. Otherwise I don't think you've written anything that conflicts substantially with what I wrote.

gnaritas 13y ago

> Anyone can 'program computers' No they can't. Anyone can try, most will fail, because few are suited for it.

lutusp 13y ago

> Anyone can 'program computers'; computers are a universal language. If that were true, programmers would be making minimum wage and would be ranked alongside people who wash cars.

fit2rule 13y ago
And that is in fact how it is in many parts of the world.

rbanffy 13y ago

> Anyone can 'program computers' Often with the most hilarious results.