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I have a theory that software drives people insane

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Re: I have a theory that software drives people insane

#141

Post by win311fwg »

da_chicken wrote: post #109
stinos wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For 2 larger projects I'm on, I'm both the developer and a user: on a regular basis I use the software myself. And not just for one-off tests. I really use it the way other users use it. This has provided rather deep and interesting insights in software development for these particular products and in general. Or in OP's lingo: not a lot of potential for insanity at all. Because any new idea immediately gets regarded…

In my experience, this is the only kind of software that ends up not sucking. If development is not driven by users in a very intimate way -- like being one and the same person -- then you routinely end up with necessary features only half working or splitting essential information across multiple screens or dialogs. Eating your own dog food is essential to rising above that, because only that reality will overwhelm…

> It's why only software like [...] web browsers gets to be really good.

Huh? Web browsers are still laughably bad even after all these years. They are engineering marvels, certainly, but using them leaves a lot to be desired. I cannot imagine anyone would voluntarily use them if the ultimate function was equally available another way.

Re: I have a theory that software drives people insane

#142

Post by DidntUseIt »

> But, harsh as it may be: most software is still just a glorified spreadsheet.

Think the author means most back-end software is a glorified spreadsheet (CRUD app with a few sorting algorithms).

The last 10-20 years in software has been more about new device interfaces, improving UI/UX, and networking technologies. I think of things like streaming, 3D games, live chat, video content, mobile apps, and LLMs.

Anyone who thinks about software like that would not instill confidence in me that they make very good software.

> You can watch sensible people argue for an hour over a button because, somewhere deep inside the conversation, the button has become connected to a future pile of money.

> It means understanding that not every problem is existential, not every idea belongs on the roadmap, and not every abstraction deserves to exist.

> waste away in Margaritaville tinkering with shit that doesn't need tinkering with.

I don't really understand what each paragraph has to do with each other, or why this message is being shared with me today.

I don't even mind that style of writing, but it should be more specific and interesting if it's going to be stream of consciousness style like that (IMO). To do all that, and deliver just vague half-points and boring assertions, felt like I was just waiting for some kind of punchline or point to be made that I could nod my head at but no thought was stuck with long enough.

The conclusion was like they tried to come up with anything just to turn the essay in on time.

Re: I have a theory that software drives people insane

#143

Post by paulhebert »

natdavidson wrote: post #106
devmor wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"What problem are we trying to solve?" is a question I have to ask constantly in corporate development environments, and rarely does anyone presenting the task to be done actually know the answer! It's very frustrating.

I wouldn’t ask that if you want to keep your job.

Really?

I’ve asked that question all the time throughout my career. Lots of promotions. No firings or layoffs.

Why would you lose your job?

Re: I have a theory that software drives people insane

#145

Post by my002 »

arthurfirst wrote: post #88
FLeXMurphy wrote: post #23

It is not the software, it is the internet. Something Awful already had it figured out: The internet makes you stupid.

It makes a lot of people dumber -- they doom scroll, gossip, play childrens games, and on the high end post cat memes. But it's a tool like any other and the results depend on the user. For those with eyes to see and ears to hear it is (was) the Library of Alexandria. The knowledge of the world unfiltered without gate keeper trolls deciding what you can see and learn. Getting on the internet in 1993 completely change…

The Internet doesn't make people dumber any more than video games, rock music, picaresque novels, the printing press, or writing did. These kinds of arguments come around with every new technology and have always been fatuous.

Re: I have a theory that software drives people insane

#146

Post by dwaltrip »

fragmede wrote: post #74
Terr_ wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar to "needs to be a platform" [0], another variant is "be a data company" where somehow the underpants gnomes will transform your moat of stored information into profit. [0] Read: "Needs to be pitch-able to investors as a magical 1000x growth unicorn."

it's no longer a theory. google paid millions for spirit airlines' emails and internal messages to be used as training data for their AIs.

After they went bankrupt... right?

Re: I have a theory that software drives people insane

#148

Post by EA-3167 »

tcdent wrote: post #129

OP has practically observed the effect of the Ego via software, but hasn't quite arrived at the ability to quantify it. Read back through and apply every example given through that lens. It is possible that we're in an industry that inordinately expresses this part of human nature, but I'm pretty sure it shows up everywhere though different anecdota. Apply a reductionist Zen Buddhist view to your professional creativ…

Being like Alice preserves your sanity on that level, but opens you up to significant issues in your future career and financial state. There's a reason why people who make a bundle relatively early in this world often pack it in and move to a farm or a job where they can enjoy the produce of their labor. They have a good choice to make without sacrificing more than they can afford, but that's not true of everyone at all times.

Re: I have a theory that software drives people insane

#150

Post by boogieknite »

bombela wrote: post #11
bob1029 wrote: post #4

Software development untethered from the practical realities of the customer / user is what drives people insane. When developers are required to interact with the customer on a regular basis , the freewheeling effects described in this article are damped massively. The potential for insanity goes off the charts when the development team is siloed away in solitary confinement and the only interactions with the client…

Talking to the users, allowing them to show you what they are trying to do with your software, almost feels like cheating, because of how easy things suddenly appear to be when uncertainty fades away. Obviously, the number of uniquely different users has an influence, and users most often do not truly know what they need, but that's our job to tease appart. Turns out the users most often benefits from small changes t…

i consider a sign of maturity in myself that i always defer to adapting my software to fit how the user is trying to interact with it. the sign of immaturity is that my deference masks internally screaming, "why would you want that!? why would ANYONE want that!?"

my "customers always right" approach has produced much more successful and useful software compared to my perfect little hobby projects which will never be complete and noone would ever use anyway

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