Why age in software is bullshit
medium.com
Why age in software is bullshit
1–10 of 21 posts
Re: Why age in software is bullshit
#2Its usually not the age. But its common for people effected to think that they are being discriminated because of their age.
There is a tendency for a lot of people to hang on to tools and ideas that worked for them in the past. e.g someone who comes from a relational world, finds it very hard to get used to nosql unless their boss gives them no choice.
Re: Why age in software is bullshit
#3I think the author misses what is being said by the individuals making the 'age' comment.
I'm in my 20s and I've said this comment before plenty but it isn't in the context of someone being too old to ship code but instead the fact that as we age we usually take on additional commitments, responsibilities, etc.
All these extra factors often limit the amount of time that most people have to dedicate to coding.
Re: Why age in software is bullshit
#4Its usually not the age. But its common for people effected to think that they are being discriminated because of their age. There is a tendency for a lot of people to hang on to tools and ideas that worked for them in the past. e.g someone who comes from a relational world, finds it very hard to get used to nosql unless their boss gives them no choice.
Yeah... I was just looking at http://leaningtech.com/cheerp/ and wondering why everyone is trying to tack on static typing to JavaScript when they could just use C++...
It might be that I am beyond redemption at this point.
Re: Why age in software is bullshit
#5Its usually not the age. But its common for people effected to think that they are being discriminated because of their age. There is a tendency for a lot of people to hang on to tools and ideas that worked for them in the past. e.g someone who comes from a relational world, finds it very hard to get used to nosql unless their boss gives them no choice.
Yeah... I was just looking at http://leaningtech.com/cheerp/ and wondering why everyone is trying to tack on static typing to JavaScript when they could just use C++... It might be that I am beyond redemption at this point.
Good luck getting that C++ code to run in your browser, for starters...
Re: Why age in software is bullshit
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah... I was just looking at http://leaningtech.com/cheerp/ and wondering why everyone is trying to tack on static typing to JavaScript when they could just use C++... It might be that I am beyond redemption at this point.
Good luck getting that C++ code to run in your browser, for starters...
C++ in your browser today? Check. [1]
C++ in your browser tomorrow? Check. [2]
[1] http://kripken.github.io/emscripten-site/
[2] https://github.com/WebAssembly/design/blob/master/CAndC++.md
Re: Why age in software is bullshit
#7Its usually not the age. But its common for people effected to think that they are being discriminated because of their age. There is a tendency for a lot of people to hang on to tools and ideas that worked for them in the past. e.g someone who comes from a relational world, finds it very hard to get used to nosql unless their boss gives them no choice.
The irony I find in this depiction is the "hot new" stuff in today's ecosystem is very often stuff that's already existed for 2-3 decades in some less trendy form, given a new brand identity (complete with cookie-cutter .io website), and grows a Twitter & conference clique around it as though it's being discovered for the first time.
"Reactive", "Streams", "Containers", "NoSQL", "Big Data", "Blockchain", the list goes on. I work, or have recently worked, in each of those problem domains to a non-trivial extent, so I'm absolutely no stranger to the leading edge of the marketplace, but I still find it amusing how gaga people get over the new branding, and I'm even more amused how indignant people get when you show them work from 15-20 years ago that was materially similar under the "hot new" brand name it had back then.
Sure the show might be new to a lot of people, but to a lot of other people it's just re-runs that have been in syndication for a long time with tired plot devices and predictable story arcs.
Reluctance to jump on the bandwagon may very well be rooted in the scar tissue built up the last time around, not purely reticence to try something new. They may just be withholding their enthusiasm until they try can something actually new.
Re: Why age in software is bullshit
#8I think the author misses what is being said by the individuals making the 'age' comment. I'm in my 20s and I've said this comment before plenty but it isn't in the context of someone being too old to ship code but instead the fact that as we age we usually take on additional commitments, responsibilities, etc. All these extra factors often limit the amount of time that most people have to dedicate to coding.
So what you're saying is basically you have "no life", and you are willing to dedicate your waking hours to your job (or playing Pokemon Go). Been there done that, found out the hard way that it usually ends in a way that is not so advantageous to you.
I am still writing code at 58 because it's what I like to do. I have founded, managed and CTO'ed. But when I code I feel better during the day, I feel like I have accomplished more, and I sleep a lot better then when I herded cats.
Retirement is a slow death... I am going to be coding until I die, at least 30 more years!
Re: Why age in software is bullshit
#9I think the author misses what is being said by the individuals making the 'age' comment. I'm in my 20s and I've said this comment before plenty but it isn't in the context of someone being too old to ship code but instead the fact that as we age we usually take on additional commitments, responsibilities, etc. All these extra factors often limit the amount of time that most people have to dedicate to coding.
So what you're saying is basically you have "no life", and you are willing to dedicate your waking hours to your job (or playing Pokemon Go). Been there done that, found out the hard way that it usually ends in a way that is not so advantageous to you. I am still writing code at 58 because it's what I like to do. I have founded, managed and CTO'ed. But when I code I feel better during the day, I feel like I have acco…
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Re: Why age in software is bullshit
#10Its usually not the age. But its common for people effected to think that they are being discriminated because of their age. There is a tendency for a lot of people to hang on to tools and ideas that worked for them in the past. e.g someone who comes from a relational world, finds it very hard to get used to nosql unless their boss gives them no choice.
> There is a tendency for a lot of people to hang on to tools and ideas that worked for them in the past. e.g someone who comes from a relational world, finds it very hard to get used to nosql unless their boss gives them no choice.
I work on a system at my dayjob that was "NoSQL" in the 1980s and is functionally similar to modern document-databases.
So...yeah. I'm sorry but the idea these things are "new" is the perception of someone who hasn't touched older technologies.