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You’re not writing code, you’re solving problems

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Re: You’re not writing code, you’re solving problems

#41

Post by SCdF »

datalist wrote: post #19

"You're not cooking meals, you're solving problems"

You're missing the point.

The goal of cooking meals is to have a meal at the end. Because people need to eat. The food is the solution to the problem you have.

People don't consume software, slurping up lines of code like ramen. Having a steaming bowl of software is not the end goal. The end goal is to solve some _other_ problem which may or may not, once you dig into it, require writing software, and if it does then still: more software doesn't mean more food.

Re: You’re not writing code, you’re solving problems

#42

Post by fooker »

jsjddbbwj wrote: post #29
crimsonalucard wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a real lack of humility among our industry, especially in the AI space. Literally you can google "AI solves world peace" or "AI solves COVID-19" and you'll hit an article. We also call ourselves ninjas when most of us are just building hugely complex infrastructure behind what is ultimately just a CRUD website.

That lack of humility also exists in other industries. You can Google "healthcare saves lives" and hit many articles

Healthcare saves lives --- by definition.

Re: You’re not writing code, you’re solving problems

#43

Post by jspash »

jl6 wrote: post #34

Junior devs solve computer problems using computers. Senior devs solve business problems using computers.

And “ninjas” or whatever the term is for senior+ programmers know when to solve problems without a computer at all!

That’s when you’ve reached enlightenment :)

And I don’t mean that in a woowoo wishy washy way. I mean that when someone comes to you with a business problem, often the solution can be something as simple as “why not just change the text to say X” or “did you know that dept Y already do that thing? Let’s ask if they will take on this task also”

A junior will have already coded 100 lines of “something”. And some seniors I know of will be knee deep in microservices whiteboard sessions by now. The truly great programmers I’ve worked with prefer simplicity first and foremost.

Re: You’re not writing code, you’re solving problems

#44

Post by white-moss »

everyone wrote: post #2

Yet another article on HN that reads as if the entirety of programming = making CRUD web apps. I make games, it has nothing to do with the real world, I'm not solving any real world problems. I'm making a new fantasy world.

I think game is art. Art is made for publish thought of creater, which has power that solves real-world problems. Writing game code (art) is equals to solving problems.

Re: You’re not writing code, you’re solving problems

#45

Post by globular-toast »

SCdF wrote: post #41
datalist wrote: post #19

"You're not cooking meals, you're solving problems"

You're missing the point. The goal of cooking meals is to have a meal at the end. Because people need to eat. The food is the solution to the problem you have. People don't consume software, slurping up lines of code like ramen. Having a steaming bowl of software is not the end goal. The end goal is to solve some _other_ problem which may or may not, once you dig into it, require writing software, and if it does then…

I think you're missing the point. Humans can live perfectly well eating raw food. But we don't because it's not nice.

Re: You’re not writing code, you’re solving problems

#47

Post by uncletaco »

SCdF wrote: post #41
datalist wrote: post #19

"You're not cooking meals, you're solving problems"

You're missing the point. The goal of cooking meals is to have a meal at the end. Because people need to eat. The food is the solution to the problem you have. People don't consume software, slurping up lines of code like ramen. Having a steaming bowl of software is not the end goal. The end goal is to solve some _other_ problem which may or may not, once you dig into it, require writing software, and if it does then…

> humans don't consume software

what even is gaming

Re: You’re not writing code, you’re solving problems

#48

Post by throwawaypa123 »

everyone wrote: post #2

Yet another article on HN that reads as if the entirety of programming = making CRUD web apps. I make games, it has nothing to do with the real world, I'm not solving any real world problems. I'm making a new fantasy world.

You solve other people's boredom problem.

Re: You’re not writing code, you’re solving problems

#50

Post by jpswade »

This is all very well and good until the code you’ve written to solve the problems becomes a bit too unwieldy, then you need to become better at writing code.

The problem you were solving was solved, but now you have a new problem to solve.

True then, the best code you can write, is indeed, no code at all.

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