

What John Locke Can Teach You About Software Development - myusuf3
http://www.mahdiyusuf.com/post/4139484609/what-john-locke-taught-me-about-software-development

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helpmehelpyou
Anyone else expecting the 17th century philosopher?

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myusuf3
haha i think you missing the point. It's good software development practices.
Not who I can extract an allegory from.

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brudgers
Somehow I think a case could be made that radical empiricism is a useful model
for software development...i.e. one's _a priori_ ideas about customers,
markets, and the utility of software are not as useful as customer feedback:

 _And if our dreamer pleases to try whether the glowing heat of a glass
furnace be barely a wandering imagination in a drowsy man's fancy, by putting
his hand into it, he may perhaps be wakened into a certainty greater than he
could wish_

[http://enlightenment.supersaturated.com/johnlocke/BOOKIVChap...](http://enlightenment.supersaturated.com/johnlocke/BOOKIVChapterXI.html)

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ericb
John Locke is a Cargo Cult programmer. He parrots the code without
understanding it.

In the context of the series, John ran on faith, Jack on science. John ended
up dead, and used as a pawn, without ever really having understood anything.

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evo_9
Not to split hairs but by the shows conclusion Jack is dead and I'd argue no
closer to understanding anything either.

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ericb
True, although I think the growth of Jack's character was written as a
transition to a man of faith, so I'm not sure where that leaves us.

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Myrth
LOST was a nice ride, but writers failed to make sense of it.

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athesyn
6\. Nobody can tell you what you can't do.

