
Coding is not ‘fun’, it’s technically and ethically complex - brakmic
https://aeon.co/ideas/coding-is-not-fun-it-s-technically-and-ethically-complex
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jaylynch
Sex is not 'fun', it's technically and ethically complex.

This has to be the worst false dichotomy I've heard in years.

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xkxx
Drawing is not 'fun', it's technically and ethically complex.

Driving is not 'fun', it's technically and ethically complex.

Cooking is not 'fun', it's technically and ethically complex.

Life is not 'fun', it's technically and ethically complex.

<insert any hobby here> is not 'fun', it's technically and ethically complex.

The art of click-baity article titles is not 'fun', it's technically and
ethically complex.

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err4nt
This article starts out making a case, then about halfway through it takes a
weird turn and gets pretty surreal. Am I the only one who got lost there?

I think within 'coding' there is such a vast range of different pursuits -
code can be like architecture, document filing systems, artwork, marketing,
etc… there is just such an abundance of variety it's really hard to put all of
'coding' into one box like this.

It's like saying 'writing' isn't fun, it's technically and ethically complex.
Some writing, like medical records - carry life or death sentences if there
are errors. Some strokes of the pens call for executions - not all writing is
fun… but would you argue that because some writing is hard, painful, or
dangerous - that writing can't be fun as well? Think of love letters, recipes,
poetry, maps, music etc. All different forms of writing that can be fun in
their own way.

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JonRB
I think this article assumes that 'learning to code' and 'being a programmer'
are one and the same. I personally believe than (like many things) there is a
huge difference between the two - I do believe that anybody can code, but
being a programmer is a completely different kettle of fish.

Anybody can code, sure. Not everybody can code _professionally_.

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throw_away_777
The hard part of coding professionally is getting a job. Practice is much more
important than native ability for most intellectual activities until you get
to the very peak of competitive performance.

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casion
Something can be fun, technical, complex and laden with responsibility.

Very strange article.

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altitudinous
Was waiting to see why coding was ethically complex - I was disappointed.
Strange article.

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ubersoldat2k7
Making things is fun... Programming is fun when you do it for you (side
projects, hobbies, etc), but when you have to push a 70h week to meet a stupid
deadline, it's not. When you have to debug some weird bug on a conflicting
environment or platform, it's not fun.

Professional programming can be fun, but it's usually not. But it's a job I
wouldn't change for anything else.

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pmyjavec
I believe most technology is being developed and sold under the guise of
"betterment" and "progress"; However, very little ethical scrutiny is
performed and probabably not a lot of forethought given to long term impacts.

If one looks truly, looks deeply and really asks themselves, "Is my work
really having a, lasting, positive impact and making me happy", one might be
suprised at the answer. Doing this can be a confronting, life altering
exercise.

The author makes valid points, coding can be difficult, isolating and
stressful. It's not always ping pong tables and bean bags, though it often
starts out that way.

The truth is, most of the worlds major issues could be solved using some self-
sacrifice and common sense, technology is not everything. Looking into the
origin of your food, your pay check and your motivations can be be good start
in realising that.

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chucklenorris
i really don't understand the ethically complex part. off the top of my head i
can divide these kind of decisions into 3 categories: offensive security which
in most cases is clear on which side you are on, bugs that can affect user's
wellbeing for which there must be guidelines or someone is not doing their job
(technical incompetence is besides the point, everybody makes mistakes but
some risks can be quantified beforehand and mitigatios be put in place), and
intended functionality like fingerprinting which most of the times are pushed
top down from the product manager's side, again, pretty well clear cut where
the responsibility lies. the point is most of the time the 'coders' decide on
the how part and less on the what, which is where the real disasters come
from.

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thanksalot
Nah, man. Coding IS fun!

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devoply
Coding can be fun. It can also be technically and ethically complex or not. I
personally think the problem with coding is that it's exhausting. That to me
is the biggest problem with the software profession, that it's exhausting.

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pascalxus
I agree that it's technically complex. But ethically complex? Not at all. In
my 12+ years of SE experience, I've never once come across an ethical dilemma.
He doesn't really explain why it would be ethically complex.

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jimmywanger
FTA: >inevitably white and male

What the heck does that have to do with the rest of the article? Just a
cultural dig at coding and coder stereotypes that fits the current zeitgeist?

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sigmar
Noting a stereotype is a "cultural dig"? Why don't you take offense at the
other stereotypes preceding those (ie "socially challenged, type-first-think-
later hacker")?

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jimmywanger
Because "socially challenged, type-first-think-later hacker" has some sort of
relationship with people not thinking about wider social implications of their
work.

I'd have the same reaction if they said "Asian immigrant on a h1b visa" \- why
are you even bringing this up when it has absolutely no relevance to the
subject at hand? Might as well bring up hoodies and jeans while you're at it.

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charles-salvia
Coding is fun. Debugging sucks though.

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mwpmaybe
It sucks until you figure out the problem, then it's euphoric.

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xj9
you have a rather boring definition of fun, then. technically and ethically
complex things _are_ fun.

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aburan28
Why is this story flagged??

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WalterSear
Fun, too.

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sid-kap
Can we stop making references to the trolley problem with respect to self-
driving cars?

