

The python paradox - digamber_kamat
http://paulgraham.com/pypar.html

======
citizenkeys
Programming is like electrical wiring; that is, its a means to an end. A "good
programming language" is basically one that you're fluent enough to use in
order to complete a project.

Additionally, very skilled programmers increasingly become less relevant as
processing power increases. In the original days of the personal computer,
insanely clever techniques were useful when the computer only had 4K of memory
like the original Apple II. These days, knowing such techniques isn't so
useful.

The real paradox is finding programmers that can fluently program something
that users actually enjoy. Programmers that program only for the sake of
solving interesting technical problems are what Paul Graham refers to as
"techno-weenies" ( <http://www.paulgraham.com/wealth.html> ). Ideally, a very
tiny percent of people will actually see the source code compared to those
that actually use the product. You can write something that people enjoy and
then hire programmers later to optimize the source code. The inverse is not
true: You cannot program something that is elegantly written and then hire
someone to make people like it.

~~~
umtrey
If we look at the rise of easier and easier to use graphic design programs -
Photoshop, Illustrator, and so on - we don't see a decreased relevance of
experienced or quality graphic design professionals. Instead, the ability to
get something, anything done that looks OK is much easier. The highest quality
products are still produced by the highest quality individuals. The tool is an
enabling device.

We can mirror this to programming, and IDEs. Visual Studio, for instance,
takes a ton of the nitty-gritty details of programming out of the picture for
a vast population of people looking to write software. The need for quality
and very skilled programmers isn't any less relevant - they're just not needed
for every piece of development like they used to be. This is how we're able to
get way more software than before. The very skilled programmers are almost
more important in order to facilitate more software to get pushed out, as
there will require an increased expectation of quality from software and only
a limited group who can produce or lead such a development effort.

None of this is a bad thing, but it's just a change in how things used to be
done. As it used to be in the automotive world, not everyone has to be a full
fledged mechanic to keep the car running - but for the big jobs, there is a
definite demand for the higher skill. (Of course, computerization of the
automobile is bringing this back around!)

~~~
digamber_kamat
I agree. Technical challenges are not always deal with issues of processing
and memory. In case of web the real problem is scalability and communicating
processes and system components. May be we will soon come up with some
formalism and technologies that will make scalability a dumb problem but then
we will have a new set of technical challenges to be solved. So the demand for
highly skilled people who care about their work will only increase with time.

In my opinion it is wrong to assume that a language like Python is better than
C. They are all independent of each other. Python is simply useless when it
comes to real-time processing where hard deadlines are required, you cant
chose anything except Ada or some flavor of C. They each have their strengths
and that is why they are still alive.

------
ManOwl
This article is pretty old. I think a language like Haskell or Clojure would
be a better nerd-clue these days.

~~~
jinushaun
This article seems to pop up on HN pretty often.

------
coolgeek
Google shows 62 hits for this link on this site

