The core difference is that programmers do new things every time. Pilots can write checklists for things to do when they fly the plane, because landing and taki

The core difference is that programmers do new things every time. Pilots can write checklists for things to do when they fly the plane, because landing and taking off is usually pretty similar wherever it may be. Doctors can do the same. Software is a bit more like engineering in that checklists are largely useless - it's not that we think we're infallible, it's just that we have no idea what should be on the checklists since we don't have standard procedures to write checklists for. If you look at critical software development they're big on analysis and testing and those kinds of things. Not the same.