4 ms·
There's been a backlash idea since 2008 or earlier, just google for "the myth of the lone programmer". There you will find countless blog posts from non entitie
by throwawayaway 12y ago
There's been a backlash idea since 2008 or earlier, just google for "the myth of the lone programmer". There you will find countless blog posts from non entities busting the myth wide open with tales from their years in the trenches as part of a large corporate team reinventing the wheel.
Whereas I tend to find that if any state of the art is moved forward in a large sweep, usually an individual ends up being given a larger amount of credit than a collective.
This is probably a cognitive bias, I am sure I and a person with an opposing view could trade exhaustive counter examples.
Also I think certain toolsets suit individuals better than collectives and the collective toolsets are in vogue at the moment. Thinking LISP or C versus JAVA or ++C.
- sliverstorm 12y agousually an individual ends up being given a larger amount of credit than a collective A critical observation. It's much easier for our minds to simplify down to one name, one face. Who landed on the Moon? Armstrong, of course. Nevermind the countless astronauts, engineers, mathematicians, and physicists who put him there. It's not something to be upset about, but good to remember when you hear stories about how one man did this or that.
- JoeAltmaier 12y agoSports teams overcome this. Sure there are superstars, but their team is absolutely famous too. Maybe NASA needs to brand their project teams?
- kjjw 12y agoI agree and I think you're coming to a problem with how we think about achievement in general. Getting to the moon was the end result of many small achievements that were themselves the result of individual pursuit. I guess it is fair enough that at some point we try to put a label or handle on a string of achievement. But clearly it can't be attributed at that level.