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Best stick to the shallow end of the pool if you can't swim. Do you program? Then you are a programmer. However, in some circles, where extremely complex pro
by danschumann 12y ago
Best stick to the shallow end of the pool if you can't swim.
Do you program? Then you are a programmer. However, in some circles, where extremely complex problems need to be solved, they would say, " No ", because you can't do any of the programming required, and you'd be as useful to them as a rock, only less useful because you take air and food.
I play volleyball occasionally, but if I went to the olympic men's team, they would tell me I don't really play volleyball, I've not yet earned the right to say that I have.
It's a matter of skills and standards. In the right context I can call myself a car mechanic.. like if my car needs air the tires, but beyond that I'm not.
If you can program simple things on the web you can get away with calling yourself a programmer until you run into problems that make you realize you're not, like complex graphics algorithms.
I can cook food at home, but if I walk into a 3 michelin star restaurant and try to get a job, it's not like I'm going to write an article if they don't like my food. Boo hoo, they made me cook for them, how dare they? Whatever they're doing, it's working, so why knock the process that produces success when you can mimic it?
- general_failure 12y agoI have to admit, I don't understand what you are trying to say. Are you saying puzzles are somehow the higher level of programming? You are completely wrong.
- danschumann 12y agoLol.. How can you say I am wrong when you don't understand what I am saying?
- general_failure 12y agoMm, I asked a question before that sentence. I guess I should have preceded it with "if you are, then". Sorry about that.
- crimsonalucard 12y agoI don't think puzzles is a higher level of programming anymore then running is a higher form of walking. However if I see that you can run chances are you can likely walk as well.
- ksenzee 12y agoIt would greatly surprise me if a member of the Olympic men's volleyball team said "you don't really play volleyball." People at the top of their field are way more likely to say "that's great! Keep it up!" The same applies in our field. The really great programmers I have known don't play the "you are not a real programmer" game.
- danschumann 12y agoCorrect, that would be rude. However, they wouldn't put me on their team. It's their right to have tryouts however they want to. As arbitrary as entrance exams seem, they are part of the culture, and if you don't fit in, you don't fit in. Move on, start your own company.
- danschumann 12y agoIt's like putting an entrance requirement of must use vim. Are all vim users better than non-vim users? No. Would a company gain some sort of productive advantage if everyone used vim? Yes. They would share tips, tricks, and everyone would be faster. Why are people knocking a company's right to arbitrarily poll for employees however they want to? Fact: Having a specific culture increases productivity at a company, it doesn't even matter what that culture is, as long as everyone is on the same page. So, no matter how arbitrary and unfair it may seem, it builds cohesion within an organization.