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What happened to all the non-programmers?

benkuhn.net

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Re: What happened to all the non-programmers?

#91

Post by ZanyProgrammer »

amyjess wrote: post #61

This subject is one that interests me a lot. As I've mentioned before (in fact, I created this account to post about it a few weeks ago), I'm MtF transgender, and it's been my observation and the observation of the trans communities I participate in that a disproportionately high percentage of MtF trans people work in the tech industry and/or are tech hobbyists. The "MtF computer geek" is in fact one of the most prev…

Its interesting how the mix of tech and being trans works-being trans is being part of an extremely marginalized group, but someone making six figures and is trans also has a ton of class privilege. Clearly trans people working in tech in the Bay Area (which I have experience being around) aren't the average trans people.

Re: What happened to all the non-programmers?

#92

Post by dublinben »

mkr-hn wrote: post #79
dublinben wrote: post #43

>Find someone that’s not using a Mac/iOS device and strike up a conversation. This is good advice if you're looking to meet people with different perspectives.

It would be the opposite for me. Everyone around me uses Windows and Android. The people with a different perspective are the ones with an Apple logo.

What environment/industry do you find yourself in where that is the case? Apple has over 30% of the smartphone market share in the US, and even more in many fields/groups.

Re: What happened to all the non-programmers?

#93

Post by mkr-hn »

dublinben wrote: post #92
mkr-hn wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would be the opposite for me. Everyone around me uses Windows and Android. The people with a different perspective are the ones with an Apple logo.

What environment/industry do you find yourself in where that is the case? Apple has over 30% of the smartphone market share in the US, and even more in many fields/groups.

The northeastern edge of metro Atlanta.

Re: What happened to all the non-programmers?

#94

Post by [deleted] »

ZanyProgrammer wrote: post #91
amyjess wrote: post #61

This subject is one that interests me a lot. As I've mentioned before (in fact, I created this account to post about it a few weeks ago), I'm MtF transgender, and it's been my observation and the observation of the trans communities I participate in that a disproportionately high percentage of MtF trans people work in the tech industry and/or are tech hobbyists. The "MtF computer geek" is in fact one of the most prev…

Its interesting how the mix of tech and being trans works-being trans is being part of an extremely marginalized group, but someone making six figures and is trans also has a ton of class privilege. Clearly trans people working in tech in the Bay Area (which I have experience being around) aren't the average trans people.

[deleted]

Re: What happened to all the non-programmers?

#95

Post by WalterSear »

jonny_eh wrote: post #46
WalterSear wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Me too, and I'm conflicted about it. I'm well aware that I'm bringing my own preconceptions to the situation, but I continually find it harder to engage people outside of technology. People outside of tech may be more diverse in appearance, but in perspectives, interests and awareness, people working in technology (in my social sphere) tend to be less conformist and more open minded. This may simply be a regression t…

Exactly. I find tech people to be, on average, more rational and share more of my interests. It makes conversations much more enjoyable. As someone who isn't a great conversator, trying to come up with small chat with a lawyer or an accountant is rather stressful. Talking about programming languages, video games, or comic books is much easier.

>Talking about programming languages, video games, or comic books is much easier.

IMHO, it's more than just a lack of topics for small talk: it's the size of the talk in general. The people I meet outside of tech tend to be less well read and less open to new experiences.

Re: What happened to all the non-programmers?

#96

Post by belorn »

zachalexander wrote: post #84
randomdata wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interestingly, I also work remotely from a rural farming area and have found that the farming community is a lot like the tech community. They, like you, love the future and technology. Robotics is huge in agriculture right now. Tractors that drive themselves, cows that can milk themselves, how software can be used to improve the bottom line, etc. are hot topics, and come up frequently among my farming friends. In my…

> cows that can milk themselves What

We used to assume that robots would have hands and feet and walk among us to do the number of boring jobs we wished someone else would do for us. What happened is that we started to carry them around (smartphones), or in this case, get animals to walk to the stationary robot so it can do the job it was designed for. We live now in the future, minus robotic hands and feet.

Re: What happened to all the non-programmers?

#97

Post by saalweachter »

I'm calling nerd.

A lot of us have monomaniacal interests. A programmer who works all day programming and spends his free time programming other things and writing blogs about programming and posting on forums about programming is going to meet a lot of programmers. Cows in a cow pasture are going to spend a lot of time with other cows.

If you ratchet down your monomania just a little it's very easy to meet non-programmers. Join a Latin reading group and you meet a lot of classicists. Join a beekeeping meet-up and you meet a lot of beekeepers. Join a weekly board game group and you meet lots of gamers.

I'm willing to believe programmers are prone to monomania.

Re: What happened to all the non-programmers?

#98

Post by belorn »

I wonder how the statistics will look if you filter based on individuals background. Programmers I know do not live in the city they were born or studied in, which could be the cause of a distinctly different social circles than for those who stated with the community they were born in.

Re: What happened to all the non-programmers?

#100

Post by amyjess »

ZanyProgrammer wrote: post #91
amyjess wrote: post #61

This subject is one that interests me a lot. As I've mentioned before (in fact, I created this account to post about it a few weeks ago), I'm MtF transgender, and it's been my observation and the observation of the trans communities I participate in that a disproportionately high percentage of MtF trans people work in the tech industry and/or are tech hobbyists. The "MtF computer geek" is in fact one of the most prev…

Its interesting how the mix of tech and being trans works-being trans is being part of an extremely marginalized group, but someone making six figures and is trans also has a ton of class privilege. Clearly trans people working in tech in the Bay Area (which I have experience being around) aren't the average trans people.

For the record, I'm not talking about "rich" people in the Bay Area.

I live in Texas, and the trans communities I associate with are online with membership scattered all over the place. I've probably ran into more fellow Texans than people in the Bay Area, actually (I even once tried to create an online community specifically for trans Texans because there were so many of us, but it never took off).

Actually, a common thread I've seen among trans people is that many of them are tech hobbyists who wish they could be professionals but are unemployed and living with their parents (usually a product of the depression that so often goes hand in hand with gender dysphoria). And the younger members of the communities tend to be college students.

(As for me, I'm employed but not making anywhere near six figures. Hell, until two months ago, I made under $50k, and I'm 30 years old)

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