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What Is Code?

bloomberg.com

241–250 of 368 posts

Re: What Is Code?

#241

I think of Minecraft as a visual representation of a database. Every block you see has a set of values, starting with the 3 that determine its location within the world (coordinates) and extending to include block type, which determines other values. And too, even the open spaces. For Minecraft reminds you that a block can occupy any space. Indeed, an open space is a set of blocks whose block type is "open", which ma…

Most games are essentially just massive databases of pretend stuff with an enjoyable alternative to SQL as the interface.

Re: What Is Code?

#242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US works pretty similar to how you indicate Europe works: 1-6 (or 7 in some places) is taught single teacher who probably majored in education with the whole class (with maybe a once a week art or muisc class taught by a specialist if the school is well funded). 7 or 8 through 12th is taught with 6-8 subjects a day (or in some places 3-4 subjects with alternating days having different subjects) with teachers who…

Thanks for the clarification. I should have addressed this in more nuanced fashion, given the reality of 50+ state educational systems and innumerable school districts witht heir own rules, rather than a single national standard. Instead, I critiqued the weakest instances of the current system as if they were the norm.

Also note that California needs to mandate degrees in related fields at least partly because the California school systems are in so much trouble. Pick a random school district in a suburb in the US Northeast, and despite the lack of requirement, it will tend to be the norm (many inner-city districts burn out teachers so fast that I doubt any set of requirements would suceed in getting quality teachers).

The general consensus is that California school systems are poor, and what little I've seen of them seems to hold true: I grew up in the Northeast, and communities that are comparably affluent in Southern California to there are much worse off school wise. The most common point to blame seems to be Prop 13[1], but I also notice that California has many more decisions centralized, and does also tend to have more parents who are non-native English speakers, so I don't know what is to blame.

1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_13_%2819...

Re: What Is Code?

#243
post #143

Watch it when capitalists pushing incessantly people to learn coding. They're trying very hard to cut the costs of their input "materials" and they will do everything that they could to devalue us in every way possible. So, if you're a talented and competent dev, be super aggressive with these predators and take everything your hands can grab before they have the upper hand and show us their true colors. Happy Coding…

Indeed. Labor costs.

Re: What Is Code?

#244
post #25

Holy CPU time! That site consumes 100% of my CPU (presumably 100% of one core) whenever it is in the front tab (Firefox/OS X). Anyone else experiencing that or is it just my laptop running wild?

It's like Myspace and Tumblr barfed all over Businessweek. I opened the article in Firefox with the mobile-emulation feature turned on. Because good god almighty this thing is a trainwreck otherwise.

Re: What Is Code?

#245
post #143

Watch it when capitalists pushing incessantly people to learn coding. They're trying very hard to cut the costs of their input "materials" and they will do everything that they could to devalue us in every way possible. So, if you're a talented and competent dev, be super aggressive with these predators and take everything your hands can grab before they have the upper hand and show us their true colors. Happy Coding…

http://www.forbes.com/sites/venkateshrao/2012/09/03/entrepre...

"...the balance of power between investors and entrepreneurs that marks the early, frontier days of a major technology wave (Moore’s Law and the Internet in this case) has fallen apart. Investors have won, and their dealings with the entrepreneur class now look far more like the dealings between management and labor (with overtones of parent/child and teacher/student). Those who are attracted to true entrepreneurship are figuring out new ways to work around the traditional investor class. The investor class in turn is struggling to deal with the unpleasant consequences of an outright victory..."

Re: What Is Code?

#246
Anyone know what happens when you allow bloomberg.com to use your camera when you finish reading the article?

Re: What Is Code?

#248

It's 2015. The audience of this article shouldn't even exist. The reader, as described in the article, is a VP who has so little understanding about what it is his company does, that the only meaningful abstraction he can mentally picture is that of his employees "burning barrels of money". Imagine an auto company VP who says "I don't know anything about engines and drivetrains and all that technical stuff. All I kno…

What? I imagine there are many, many auto manufacturing VP's who think, "I don't know anything about engines and drivetrains and all that technical stuff [– and I don't need to]." Why should the VP of Human Resources need to know how a drivetrain works? Or the CTO? Or the CFO? They are experts in their area focus. It's ridiculous to expect every manager to understand everything about their business. Would you expect…

This is the only valid answer, here. Why is the guy not talking in terms of technical debt, business impact, KPIs etc.?

If he really knows his shit, he should be expected to break his technical insight down into layman-friendly terms.

Hell, we're expecting just that from our doctors all the time.

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