Programming

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What are some common misconceptions about programming that you'd like to debunk? (programming.dev)

submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 9 months ago (3 children)

That if you know how to code, you understand how computers work and understand really complicated math concepts.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago

I call that the "nerd equivalency problem". I think it's the source of much (most? all?) of the problems with software that comes out of organizations that are not programming shops by nature.

"We're not moving fast enough (or, "I have this great idea!"), hire another nerd!"

The problem also exists within individual programmers ("sure, I can do that UX/UI thingy, just let me finish building this ray-tracing thingy"), but that's just an ordinary cognitive weakness that affects us all (thinking that being expert in one field makes one expert in all). It's the job of proper leadership to resist that, not act as though it's true.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago (2 children)

That's the difference between a programmer and a computer scientist, but even I (a computer scientist) I'm not an expert in hardware, networking, or OS level operations because that's not my daily focus.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

and what you just described is the difference between a computer scientist and a computer engineer!

[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago

I compare my career to the medical field. Sure there are some crossovers but lots of specialties.

Would you consult a dentist about your bowel movements?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I don't even remember my times tables anymore!

[–] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago

Oh, that's easy:

	0	1
0	0	0
1	0	1

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago

I know my wife sets the table at 6 o'clock