This was good: Reflections on 10,000 Hours of Programming.
Category Archives: Philosophy
Specific vs general
So over on The Configuration Complexity Clock the author says “at a certain level of complexity, hard-coding a solution may be the least evil option.” Programmers disparagingly call it “hard-coding” but I call it “specific”. Write specific applications! Generalisations aren’t useful until you have specific uses of them.
20 Things Learned in 20 Years as a Software Engineer
Today I happened upon: 20 Things I’ve Learned in my 20 Years as a Software Engineer. Of the 20 points my favourites were: “6. Sometimes you have to stop sharpening the saw, and just start cutting shit” and “8. Every system eventually sucks, get over it”.
My love-hate affair with technology
I feel the same way: My love-hate affair with technology. And my Raspberry Pis (both of them) auto-update too.
Taking a Stand in the War on General-Purpose Computing
An essay about Taking a Stand in the War on General-Purpose Computing.
Software testing
Via HN today some measured discussion about software testing: We need to talk about testing.
Book Review: A Philosophy of Software Design
Today via HN: Book Review: A Philosophy of Software Design.
Awakening from the Meaning Crisis
I have discovered Awakening from the Meaning Crisis. Also Jordan Peterson & John Vervaeke discuss the Meaning of Life.
Vocabulary
- Plato
- Socrates
- Cosmos
- Pythagoras
- The Divine Men
- Flow
- Fluency
- Kairos
- Da’ath
- Axial Age
- Exaptation
Advice
Some professional advice via r/programming today: My Personal Creed of Employment and All the best engineering advice I stole from non-technical people.
The puzzle of motivation by Dan Pink
An old TED Talk: The puzzle of motivation:
- Autonomy
- Mastery
- Purpose