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Programming Still Sucks

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Re: Programming Still Sucks

#321

Post by crnkofe »

Waterluvian wrote: post #50

I’m trying to piece together a thought. Is it right if my employer wants to “own” the gain in productivity from these tools? I’m being paid the same. I’m still doing 40 hours. The huge gains in productivity are not mine to enjoy, it seems.

The way we got to 40 hours workweek wasn't really through productivity increase despite productivity increasing substantially in the era before less work hours became standard. It was due to rebellion by the workers and syndicates. I expect any further changes will require standing up to the elite who's been preparing for that moment by buying themselves islands and private bomb shelters.

The productivity increase religion has never really been about workers. Any increase in productivity is used to reduce the workforce count and to bleed dry existing workers who now have to overproduce in place of their fired coworkers. Its sad how occasionally some people obsess about their productivity on HN as-if they're unaware that they're buying into the very thing that will get them fired and/or burned out.

Re: Programming Still Sucks

#322

Post by livinglist »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #233

The sentiment of the article is spot on. I retired four years ago and it had already been going down hill for over a decade at that point. But… The but is simply to remind people that programming can still be fun. Programming as a career? Not really. If you don't believe me, that programming is still fun, go do some programming for your own personal project. (Still fun.) (But, yeah, so glad to have left. I recall tow…

Programming is definitely fun but not so much so when you have bills to pay and a salary that barely keeps up with the inflation…

Re: Programming Still Sucks

#323

Post by munksbeer »

coldtea wrote: post #287
munksbeer wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really think this is extreme doomerism. Things are not that bad. And as I say, wouldn't you be happier if you lived in an environment where you were not impacted by all the stuff you dislike?

> wouldn't you be happier if you lived in an environment where you were not impacted by all the stuff you dislike? What I want is a better society (as I see it), not convenience for me personally. Obviously to the degree I can distance myself from stuff I don't care for, I do it. But I don't want to larp in some like-minded commune while the world turns to shit, I want the world to not turn to shit.

> while the world turns to shit, I want the world to not turn to shit.

But a lot of people disagree with you and think it isn't turning to shit, and in fact for most people on the planet, life gets better every year.

I understand your issues are more local, but remember, actions always speak louder than words. People say they don't want certain things, but then they engage prolifically with those things.

All I'm saying really is, try to avoid making the mistake that your reality is *the* reality. You can control your reality, and in this world you (and others) seem to dislike so much, there are other ways of being.

Re: Programming Still Sucks

#324

Post by munksbeer »

esseph wrote: post #277
munksbeer wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really think this is extreme doomerism. Things are not that bad. And as I say, wouldn't you be happier if you lived in an environment where you were not impacted by all the stuff you dislike?

"Just take soma" is what you are telling me right now. Four things: 1. I am a parent. Ignoring like the world doesn't exist is not an option. > wouldn't you be happier if you lived in an environment where you were not impacted by all the stuff you dislike? 2. That would not be possible. 3. If you have the capability to do something, some believe you have an obligation to. Actively working to not make a shit world req…

> For YOU maybe, for fucks sake.

And many, many others.

Don't project your reality on everyone else.

Re: Programming Still Sucks

#325

Post by AntiUSAbah »

Not in my team and not in my code base.

Build it greenfield 7 years ago, everyting is well documented, everything special screams at you if it breaks and tells you how to fix it (if it even needs fixing).

We spend time on upgrading stuff because of external dependencies and otherwise add new features.

Programming doesn't suck.

Re: Programming Still Sucks

#326

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

michaelteter wrote: post #297

The problem is not AI. The problem is still very human: the humans in charge don’t know what they don’t know, and they believe that whatever they imagine is true. They also often believe that anything they can think of must be easy - just a matter of a worker spending a little time. Or maybe an AI can do it. Management rarely learns from group failures, because they naturally assume that since the project was “easy”,…

The whole point of social media/Web 2.0/ad tech is to create and propagate these illusions, because it's more profitable to confuse, manipulate, and distract humans than to educate, inform, and communicate with honesty and integrity.

So we've ended up with a low SNR culture where everything is noisy, nothing is real, and trends and fads created by grifters are more important than reality.

Obviously, this won't end well in any of the many different ways it's playing out.

Re: Programming Still Sucks

#327

Post by FrustratedMonky »

bluegatty wrote: post #314
FrustratedMonky wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"industry' is not hellbent on destroying society" Think you are missing the point. It is not an actual back room with dudes twirling their mustaches with concrete plans to destroy the world. It is the 'profit motive' that forces a thousand small decisions, that you go along with because you have a mortgage to pay. And all added up they destroy the world.

"And all added up they destroy the world." That is total nonsense. You people have lost your minds, this is worse than a bad reddit thread. Neither 'industry' not 'software' is 'destroying the world'. Also ""Think you are missing the point. It is not an actual back room with dudes twirling their mustaches "" Thanks for the 'deep insight'?!? Do you think you're conversing with a 14 year old, struggling with abstractio…

'the industry is destroying the world'

Sorry. It think there were several themes here.

"Capitalism", leads to a thousand little decisions, that destroy the world. I've seen plenty of middle managers, that when they have to make their quarterly numbers, will dump toxic waste into the river upstream of a kindergarten.

Then "Industry". Look up some of the philosophy around 'e/acc'. They are definitely wanting to destroy the 'humans'. So maybe not the 'world', just all the 'humans'. And since the 'e/acc' comprise a large component of AI companies, and AI is driving the industry. I think there is a fair argument that the "Industry" does want to do harm to 'humans'. But maybe humans doesn't equal the 'world'.

"Do you think you're conversing with a 14 year old, struggling with abstractions?"

Yes, a little bit. You posted a single sentence. How does that convey that you are some industry veteran. Though, I do see you have posted more since then. But not what I saw at that time.

To some of your other posts. Yes, Today is better, and Tech is a big part of that. I don't think that should imply that it is a never ending fountain of good, just ignore any problems. It isn't like Industries can't go downhill. What? We can't talk about it. Could be we are steadily pushing up the mountain until we go over a cliff. Look up Black Swan events.

Re: Programming Still Sucks

#328

Post by loose-cannon »

larodi wrote: post #300
loose-cannon wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There will always be scarcity and inequality. The point is to minimize/mitigate their effects. Can't you make the same argument for justice? Why does everyone deserve justice? Isn't that just entitlement? What is the historical or evolutionary basis for justice?

Nature does not exhibit anything as entitlement to justice. The whole concept of divine intervention (that we would like to exist more often than we like to admit) rarely manifests as measurable and consequential principle in how evolution operates. And it operates on brutal training cycles with lotta loss… So, yes, in order to have a society one perhaps and most likely needs to define how rights are guaranteed. But…

So nature doesn't exhibit justice, but a society likely needs to implement it, yes? But you don't want to say who gets to receive those rights? Some might say that those millions of dying children is an injustice that we should try and prevent. In particular, the people whose lives are the most affected might want to have a word with you.

I'm not really sure how your reasoning here is in line with your previous post.

Re: Programming Still Sucks

#329

Post by BirAdam »

fnoef wrote: post #97

Isn’t it a bit ironic that a (presumably statically generated) blog post about “programming sucks” is being chocked to death by HN?

Not really, no.

As this post was inspired by "Programming Sucks," that the traffic generated by it made something break is quite on point.

Re: Programming Still Sucks

#330

Post by FrustratedMonky »

valleyer wrote: post #320
Ygg2 wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If two trillionaires bounce a 4 trillion dollar IOU, the GDP could be the greatest in the universe, even though nothing would substantially change.

That's not what GDP means.

"(GDP) measures the total market value of final goods and services produced"

It can be circular.

MS invests 5 billion in OpenAI.

OpenAI invests 5 billion in MS.

Do we have 10 billion now?

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