

Don’t you dare compare surgeons and programmers - tansey
http://etilevich.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/dont-you-dare-to-compare-surgeons-and-programmers/

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stonemetal
_why a systems-oriented Ph.D. degree from a top 10 institution is not
considered a valid proof of the holder’s programming proficiency?_

Given the following quotes, isn't the answer to the question somewhat obvious?

 _it took 6.5 years on average_

 _My own Ph.D. dissertation is backed up by close to 100K lines of code_

A short time spent on a fairly small code base of which you are the sole
author, not an encouraging state of affairs with regards to what happens in
the real world. It is not uncommon for a production system to have been under
active development for decades or more by dozens of people. So 200 man years
of effort vs 6.5 man years on average. 100K lines of code that has never seen
production, maintenance, or turn over.

A CS PhD has never performed in an environment approaching anything like a
professional setting as part of their education. A MD has and has done so for
a large portion of their education. There really is no comparison between a MD
education and a CS PhD when it comes to time spent in a professional setting.

