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Personally I don't think that programming can be compared to sushi making or any other craft. I know this goes against majority thought in HN, but I think inte
by swatow 12y ago
Personally I don't think that programming can be compared to sushi making or any other craft. I know this goes against majority thought in HN, but I think intelligence is the most important thing for a programmer, followed by domain/language specific knowledge, followed by appropriate choice of tools.
I think the market reflects my assessment, where young smart developers can get paid a lot more than much more experienced developers. My view is also consistent with the common advice I see on HN, which is to develop deep expertise in a popular language/technology, and ensure this knowledge is always up to date (as opposed to mastering the art of programming in general).
- ramblerman 12y agoI think baseline intelligence is required that may or may not be of a moderate to high average. But beyond that you don't get a better programmer by adding intelligence points. Those young smart developers you speak of have experience too. They've been playing with these tools since they were 13 and love what they do.
- swatow 12y agoIn my experience you do get a better programmer as you add IQ points. In fact I think that the technical interviews for software companies are in part measuring general intelligence, although in a programming context. As people rightly point out, you are very unlikely to actually need to solve the kinds of problems they ask in these interviews while on the job.
- mszyndel 12y agoI think you're mixing cause with effect. Someone argued (can't find source now) that sth. similar to Moore's Law applies to programmers, their number doubles every year or two. Effectively, half of the programmers working now where not even employed two years ago.