Beej's Guide to Learning Computer Science • Hacker News Board

Re: Beej's Guide to Learning Computer Science

#61

Post by almostgotcaught » Tue, Dec 02, 2025, 12:04 PM UTC

alexchantavy wrote: post #19

> So, while it’s clearly possible to have a career in a lucrative field you dislike, it’s (a) going to be harder for you than for people who like it and (b) maybe you should consider a field that you do like? > You gotta want it. Do you want it enough to go through the tremendous amount of effort it takes to learn it? Maybe you hate programming, but you want the money enough. Maybe you don’t care about the money, but…

> it’s (a) going to be harder for you than for people who like it and (b) maybe you should consider a field that you do like?

This shit is so infantile. It's like people have never heard of grinding. Do you think big law attorneys "love" their jobs? How about public accountants? How about dentists (famously known for having high suicide rates).

> Maybe you hate programming, but you want the money enough.

Yes welcome to the grand epiphany that drives 99% of people. There's nothing special about programmers.

Re: Beej's Guide to Learning Computer Science

#62

Post by pardon_me » Tue, Dec 02, 2025, 12:36 PM UTC

maciejzj wrote: post #53

On a side note, has anyone noticed the disparity of attitude and level of intensity of dialogue when it comes to AI in different HN posts? Given that there are many threads where 80% act as if AI would cause second coming I suspected that main topic of discussion here would be "is it worth learning CS at all in 2026?". To my (pleasant) surprise the discussion here is much more "normal". Does anyone suspect that some…

I'm sure there are bots on here as much as astroturfing.

Partly is seems to be how quickly an article has comments leaning to one side or another. Once a few of these comments get off the ground, it's hard for voting on HN to reflect the discussion these days.

It does appear that more users from Reddit etc. are not just using HN these days, but commenting. The quality of posts and comments has definitely decreased, in line with the quality of content on blog posts decreasing.

Re: Beej's Guide to Learning Computer Science

#63

Post by zwnow » Tue, Dec 02, 2025, 12:39 PM UTC

badmonster wrote: post #44

zwnow wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's also a huge difference between liking to program and liking to work as a programmer. I despise the latter as business programming takes the joy out of everything. Trying to educate management about the current boundaries of the product or having to work extra hard because a product manager promised features that dont yet exist is exhausting. Not being allowed to work on fixing tech debt while having to build…

Have you found any strategies that help maintain joy while dealing with business constraints? What boundaries work best?

I am the worst example to ask this. I regularly go rogue or work on private shit during work. As long as there isn't any pressing work to do I force the balance I need. Perks of working alone I guess.

Re: Beej's Guide to Learning Computer Science

#64

Post by pardon_me » Tue, Dec 02, 2025, 12:41 PM UTC

pardon_me wrote: post #62

maciejzj wrote: post #53

On a side note, has anyone noticed the disparity of attitude and level of intensity of dialogue when it comes to AI in different HN posts? Given that there are many threads where 80% act as if AI would cause second coming I suspected that main topic of discussion here would be "is it worth learning CS at all in 2026?". To my (pleasant) surprise the discussion here is much more "normal". Does anyone suspect that some…

I'm sure there are bots on here as much as astroturfing. Partly is seems to be how quickly an article has comments leaning to one side or another. Once a few of these comments get off the ground, it's hard for voting on HN to reflect the discussion these days. It does appear that more users from Reddit etc. are not just using HN these days, but commenting. The quality of posts and comments has definitely decreased, i…

Another aspect is using HN as an early seed for wider advertising.

Company blog/announcement -> developer blog -> HN front page -> Twitter -> small tech blogs -> YT niche videos -> Reddit -> PR newswire -> bigger (paid content) blogs -> YT general/news videos -> Facebook -> local news -> national news.

Meanwhile, newer developers who think they're early on groundbreaking tech news are spreading this to their friends via Discord and Whatsapp etc.

Yet all of this media is controlled, just to generate buzz and boost stock prices.

Re: Beej's Guide to Learning Computer Science

#65

Post by zwnow » Tue, Dec 02, 2025, 12:41 PM UTC

falcor84 wrote: post #45

zwnow wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's also a huge difference between liking to program and liking to work as a programmer. I despise the latter as business programming takes the joy out of everything. Trying to educate management about the current boundaries of the product or having to work extra hard because a product manager promised features that dont yet exist is exhausting. Not being allowed to work on fixing tech debt while having to build…

There's a lot you can legitimately blame PMs for, but promising features that don't yet exist is essentially their job definition. A good PM will allow for uncertainty and flexibility, but at the end of the day, to have some sort of product roadmap, even in the most agile of environments, they have to say things like "at that stage we'll have functionality x, so our product will enable users to y, so that we'll bette…

There is a difference in promising features without talking to the devs or promising features after having talked to the devs.

Re: Beej's Guide to Learning Computer Science

#66

Post by pardon_me » Tue, Dec 02, 2025, 12:50 PM UTC

mjburgess wrote: post #57

maciejzj wrote: post #53

On a side note, has anyone noticed the disparity of attitude and level of intensity of dialogue when it comes to AI in different HN posts? Given that there are many threads where 80% act as if AI would cause second coming I suspected that main topic of discussion here would be "is it worth learning CS at all in 2026?". To my (pleasant) surprise the discussion here is much more "normal". Does anyone suspect that some…

HN has become per-thread view-enforced. It's pretty obvious now what the "correct" views are for any given thread, any dissenting comments are downvoted to death. When the next thread comes along, the opposite view might be the "allowed one". There's a particularly egregious amount of veiled partisanship behind a lot of posting too. This could be a group think phenomenon, or it could be botting. Hard to say. I'd say…

I agree. Thank you for pointing out a skeptical view.

It's unfortunate that considering supposedly only "seasoned" participators of HN can downvote, it runs deeper than a surface issue. You will be downvoted without comments replying with the counterarguments.

Scientific viewpoints often make way to hope and cope engineering here. This will only work as long as the people involved are insulated from the direct effects of their actions.

It's a shame. HN felt like one of the last bastions of the old internet where techies came to discuss tech, science, and occasionally important worldwide news, in a technical and objective way.

Re: Beej's Guide to Learning Computer Science

#67

Post by Madmallard » Tue, Dec 02, 2025, 12:56 PM UTC

Takes drastically less effort to get good at programming than other disciplines

Want to be a professional accompanist? Good luck. You better have been taught since you were a child and quickly picked up sight-reading and were good at it for the last 20 years.

Re: Beej's Guide to Learning Computer Science

#68

Post by Mr-Frog » Tue, Dec 02, 2025, 1:03 PM UTC

almostgotcaught wrote: post #61

alexchantavy wrote: post #19

> So, while it’s clearly possible to have a career in a lucrative field you dislike, it’s (a) going to be harder for you than for people who like it and (b) maybe you should consider a field that you do like? > You gotta want it. Do you want it enough to go through the tremendous amount of effort it takes to learn it? Maybe you hate programming, but you want the money enough. Maybe you don’t care about the money, but…

> it’s (a) going to be harder for you than for people who like it and (b) maybe you should consider a field that you do like? This shit is so infantile. It's like people have never heard of grinding. Do you think big law attorneys "love" their jobs? How about public accountants? How about dentists (famously known for having high suicide rates). > Maybe you hate programming, but you want the money enough. Yes welcome…

Interestingly, the three careers you listed are protected by strict professional credentialing systems that do not exists for programmers, and professionals in law and medicine enjoy a social prestige that is certainly attractive to a group of people who might not innately enjoy the work itself.

Re: Beej's Guide to Learning Computer Science

#69

Post by fragmede » Tue, Dec 02, 2025, 1:10 PM UTC

pardon_me wrote: post #66

mjburgess wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HN has become per-thread view-enforced. It's pretty obvious now what the "correct" views are for any given thread, any dissenting comments are downvoted to death. When the next thread comes along, the opposite view might be the "allowed one". There's a particularly egregious amount of veiled partisanship behind a lot of posting too. This could be a group think phenomenon, or it could be botting. Hard to say. I'd say…

I agree. Thank you for pointing out a skeptical view. It's unfortunate that considering supposedly only "seasoned" participators of HN can downvote, it runs deeper than a surface issue. You will be downvoted without comments replying with the counterarguments. Scientific viewpoints often make way to hope and cope engineering here. This will only work as long as the people involved are insulated from the direct effect…

to combat this, turn on showdead in your profile and [vouch] for dead comments that aren't trash when you find them

Re: Beej's Guide to Learning Computer Science

#70

Post by TrackerFF » Tue, Dec 02, 2025, 1:32 PM UTC

almostgotcaught wrote: post #61

alexchantavy wrote: post #19

> So, while it’s clearly possible to have a career in a lucrative field you dislike, it’s (a) going to be harder for you than for people who like it and (b) maybe you should consider a field that you do like? > You gotta want it. Do you want it enough to go through the tremendous amount of effort it takes to learn it? Maybe you hate programming, but you want the money enough. Maybe you don’t care about the money, but…

> it’s (a) going to be harder for you than for people who like it and (b) maybe you should consider a field that you do like? This shit is so infantile. It's like people have never heard of grinding. Do you think big law attorneys "love" their jobs? How about public accountants? How about dentists (famously known for having high suicide rates). > Maybe you hate programming, but you want the money enough. Yes welcome…

I can’t speak for others, but I’ve never met anyone really successful in the industry that hate their job, or were purely driven by the grind.

Every single one have been deeply passionate about their craft.

Not saying that you can’t grind your way to success - earning enough to retire at FAANG firms is possible, just by grinding. But the vast majority, even those with a grind mindset, will not be able to do that.