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I'm conflicted. On the one hand, as a developer, it frustrates the hell out of me when people don't have the slightest idea how computers work on the level of t

I'm conflicted. On the one hand, as a developer, it frustrates the hell out of me when people don't have the slightest idea how computers work on the level of the "just write a program that writes programs" point from the article. On the other hand, I don't know how a car works in any sort of detail, and I'm sure mechanics feel the same about me. I (like to) think the difference is that I have some idea how to reason about cars, because I am at least familiar with the basic laws of physics and get the idea of internal combustion. The "it should just work" crowd aren't just incompetent as creators, they're incompetent as users, because there's no basis for reasoning.

shiggerino 12y ago
Indeed, the car/mechanic analogy is quite flawed. The driver is the user of the car, the mechanic isn't. Whereas the developer is also a user of the computer in the most fundamental ways. People who don't know how to use computers are merely along for the ride. Someone without a driver's license might have a tremendous benefit from a car. A lot of the time they even have a say in deciding where to go (especially if they pay), but ultimately it's the person behind the wheel that's calling the shots. And for people who spend their whole working life riding around in cars (as so many do with computers) it's well worth the trouble and effort to get a driver's license and get that extra bit of autonomy. The same should be true of computing.
- digi_owl 12y ago
  Another thing is that even with more and more electronics coming into play, a car is still a mechanical system. As such, if a driver (user) complains about a new rattle or sound, the mechanical links can be traced back to the source. And that touches on another thing. Computers are deeply visual. Yes, it can output sound and such. But most of the interaction is done by text and images. This means that when it is just sitting there with the screen off, you don't know if it is idle or transferring your porn collection of the NSA headquarters. From time to time i wonder what would come out of putting a sniffer on the network and have it play some tones based on the packets picked up and their metadata. All too often i find myself likening computers to small children. When they are noisy you can relax, but when they become quiet you really need to worry. This in particular when exposed to Windows, and its habit of announcing new USB devices with plings and popups.

shiggerino 12y ago

Indeed, the car/mechanic analogy is quite flawed. The driver is the user of the car, the mechanic isn't. Whereas the developer is also a user of the computer in the most fundamental ways. People who don't know how to use computers are merely along for the ride. Someone without a driver's license might have a tremendous benefit from a car. A lot of the time they even have a say in deciding where to go (especially if they pay), but ultimately it's the person behind the wheel that's calling the shots. And for people who spend their whole working life riding around in cars (as so many do with computers) it's well worth the trouble and effort to get a driver's license and get that extra bit of autonomy. The same should be true of computing.

digi_owl 12y ago
Another thing is that even with more and more electronics coming into play, a car is still a mechanical system. As such, if a driver (user) complains about a new rattle or sound, the mechanical links can be traced back to the source. And that touches on another thing. Computers are deeply visual. Yes, it can output sound and such. But most of the interaction is done by text and images. This means that when it is just sitting there with the screen off, you don't know if it is idle or transferring your porn collection of the NSA headquarters. From time to time i wonder what would come out of putting a sniffer on the network and have it play some tones based on the packets picked up and their metadata. All too often i find myself likening computers to small children. When they are noisy you can relax, but when they become quiet you really need to worry. This in particular when exposed to Windows, and its habit of announcing new USB devices with plings and popups.