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0 pointsyonaguska3y ago0 comments

The invention of the cotton gin simply moved people from spinning cotton to picking cotton. And increased demand for slaves.

I'm not excited to be displaced personally, but I'm also not really worried about being displaced. If displacement is inevitable, I don't see how the average programmer is going to leverage this for the "stuff of dreams". Usually, tech advancements result in a greater consolidation of wealth into the hands of those that already own capital. Recent tech is no exception. Yes, there has been a lot of wealth created for regular people, but we're still working 40+ hour weeks, and earnings have not matched the increase in productivity.

What I am concerned about is that our field is becoming increasingly arcane magic for the younger generations, especially the masses that are being completely and utterly failed by the education system.

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bravetraveler3y ago

I apologize ahead of time for rambling, but I'm with you on this!

In my coworkers and many of the applicants we see, there's a trend of over optimization. The common meme is the 'leet code' interview process.

I suppose the best way I can convey this is... I think there's hyper focus on the mechanics of doing things. Making people not afraid of the code, unaware of the world around it

Abandoning a lot of thought for process. Or even the physical systems it runs on. I recently learned about the term 'mechanical sympathy'

Sometimes it's important to ask if you need the code or system at all!

I know it's not fair to people but I groan any time I see a CS degree

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