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That's not a helpful comment. It's already addressed in the article anyway: Of course, doctors aren't the only professionals who are unhappy today. Many profe

by chubot 12y ago

That's not a helpful comment. It's already addressed in the article anyway: Of course, doctors aren't the only professionals who are unhappy today. Many professions, including law and teaching, have become constrained by corporate structures, resulting in loss of autonomy, status, and respect. Personally I think the history lesson in the article was great. It makes me wonder about programmers. We are riding high now. But if we keep producing software that neglects user intent, then perhaps we will also find ourselves regulated. I'm actually happy that the FTC has stepped in and constrained certain companies.

ch4s3 12y ago
You are of course correct, my comment was a bit too sarcastic. The history piece was really interesting. I work around a lot of physicians, and I've become a bit tired of hearing them complain about their jobs and pay... so I think I zeroed in on that part of the article.
rayiner 12y ago
> But if we keep producing software that neglects user intent, then perhaps we will also find ourselves regulated. Regulation is why those professions had autonomy, status, and respect in the first place. Without legal protection, a "professional" is just a laborer, and capital always wins out over labor in the end. Temporarily the software industry is growing so quickly that programmers have a lot of leverage, but that will end. The "corporate structure" will absorb more and nore of the value created by the professional. And that's a good thing, right? Protectionism is bad, leads to higher prices for everyone. Why should doctors or programmers be protected more than Wal-Mart shelf stockers?
jschwartzi 12y ago
Software Engineering is a regulated profession in some cases. Here's one of numerous standards: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_62304 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_62304 Here's some FDA guidance covering Software Validation in Medical Devices: http://www.fda.gov/medicaldevices/deviceregulationandguidance/guidancedocuments/ucm085281.htm http://www.fda.gov/medicaldevices/deviceregulationandguidanc... It's absolutely essential that the FDA and international standards be applied when building a medical device, and that means that software must be developed according to the regulations. Here's one reason why: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25

by chubot 12y ago

ch4s3 12y ago

You are of course correct, my comment was a bit too sarcastic. The history piece was really interesting. I work around a lot of physicians, and I've become a bit tired of hearing them complain about their jobs and pay... so I think I zeroed in on that part of the article.

rayiner 12y ago

> But if we keep producing software that neglects user intent, then perhaps we will also find ourselves regulated. Regulation is why those professions had autonomy, status, and respect in the first place. Without legal protection, a "professional" is just a laborer, and capital always wins out over labor in the end. Temporarily the software industry is growing so quickly that programmers have a lot of leverage, but that will end. The "corporate structure" will absorb more and nore of the value created by the professional. And that's a good thing, right? Protectionism is bad, leads to higher prices for everyone. Why should doctors or programmers be protected more than Wal-Mart shelf stockers?

jschwartzi 12y ago

Software Engineering is a regulated profession in some cases. Here's one of numerous standards: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_62304 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_62304 Here's some FDA guidance covering Software Validation in Medical Devices: http://www.fda.gov/medicaldevices/deviceregulationandguidance/guidancedocuments/ucm085281.htm http://www.fda.gov/medicaldevices/deviceregulationandguidanc... It's absolutely essential that the FDA and international standards be applied when building a medical device, and that means that software must be developed according to the regulations. Here's one reason why: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25