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Non-programming skills every programmer should have

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Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have

#11

Post by mercuryrising »

zalew wrote: post #8

While I'm a generalist myself, and I can relate a bit to his advice, I really don't get this recent trend of patronizing everybody to become one man shows. There is a saying that shallow knowledge can be worse than no knowledge at all. For every generalist you need many specialists, and IMO the most important gain of acquiring side skills is being able to share a deeper understanding of other people's work. As an eff…

I don't think it's good for the long run, but having a bit of knowledge about everything is really handy. I'm a non-working recent grad. I'm taking a few months off (graduated in May) to try my hand at making some software stuff. I'm working on a website now, and having even a little bit of exposure to web frameworks, databases, UI, UX, etc. is nice (these are things I never had before, as I'm an EE).

I can see things I never saw before because of it. I would never ever wish this upon someone (I spend hours trying to make the stupidest things work, but then realize I was going in the completely incorrect direction). It's a pain in the ass when I can't make something look exactly how I want it, but for a little bit it's fun. It's nice being able to hack at the backend for a while, get bored, switch to design, get bored, switch to new features I could implement. I'll be ready for the big challenges when they come. It'll be cool when I show some people one day and say "I made this, all by myself, everything that happened I thought of superficially (as I'm using bootstrap, and tons of back end libraries)". We always stand on the shoulders of giants.

Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have

#12

Post by mikeash »

RollAHardSix wrote: post #4
mikeash wrote: post #3

"Spiritual - I am still not sure whether I should have included this one or not." And I can see why! There might be a point in this section, but it's tough to find among all the fluff. If you're trying to say that meditation is helpful, that's great, but I don't see why that would be labeled "spiritual". If it's something else, I can't find it.

Clarity? Calmness of Mind.

Those seem like good skills, but I have no idea why they'd be placed under a heading of "Spiritual".

Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have

#13

Post by slurgfest »

mikeash wrote: post #12
RollAHardSix wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Clarity? Calmness of Mind.

Those seem like good skills, but I have no idea why they'd be placed under a heading of "Spiritual".

Because telling everyone that they have to have religion is such a strong compulsion that people can't even resist doing it in an article supposedly aimed at programmers.

Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have

#15

Post by crazypyro »

slurgfest wrote: post #13
mikeash wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those seem like good skills, but I have no idea why they'd be placed under a heading of "Spiritual".

Because telling everyone that they have to have religion is such a strong compulsion that people can't even resist doing it in an article supposedly aimed at programmers.

He very clearly states its not about religion and that he isn't religious. Just a poor title.

Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have

#16

Post by peekyou »

I think it is not appropriate to say that every programmer should have all of this skills. First, sociability depends from one person to another. Secondly, designing is a full job. It is ok to have some knowledge but don't ask too many things to somebody.

In this case, why not asking marketing people (for example) to have programming skills ?

This kind of thread reminds me this : http://blog.jitbit.com/2011/05/what-if-drivers-were-hired-li...

Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have

#17

Post by R_Edward »

mikeash wrote: post #3

"Spiritual - I am still not sure whether I should have included this one or not." And I can see why! There might be a point in this section, but it's tough to find among all the fluff. If you're trying to say that meditation is helpful, that's great, but I don't see why that would be labeled "spiritual". If it's something else, I can't find it.

I'd suggest that "spiritual skills" encompass an understanding that there are connections between ourselves and our surroundings that defy precise, scientific description. Whether that's a feeling of camaraderie with your teammates, or a sense that one's office is warm and inviting or cold and unpleasant, or an immediate response upon meeting someone for the first time that you can trust them implicitly--or that you absolutely cannot--these are skills that can be developed and improved over time, and the effective use of which can enhance an individual's overall health, productivity, and success.

Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have

#19

Post by jacalata »

Every programmer should have the skill of ...startup? What fluff. I think what he's trying to say in this section is (a) - it is more satisfying to work on a project you care about than to be well paid (b) - you will be exposed to the entire product lifecycle at a startup and not at a big business, which is useful if you are planning to build products at your own startup later.

Aside from the semantic quibble that neither of these are 'skills' that a programmer should have, I think (a) is proposing a false dilemma, and (b) is not necessarily true, and even if true, is not shown to be useful to 'all programmers' (per the title) but just 'programmers who want to be entrepeneurs', a much smaller group.

Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have

#20

Post by btilly »

jacalata wrote: post #19

Every programmer should have the skill of ...startup? What fluff. I think what he's trying to say in this section is (a) - it is more satisfying to work on a project you care about than to be well paid (b) - you will be exposed to the entire product lifecycle at a startup and not at a big business, which is useful if you are planning to build products at your own startup later. Aside from the semantic quibble that ne…

Hey, he had to work Hacker News in somewhere.
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