
Coding is not ‘fun’, it’s technically and ethically complex - pseudolus
https://aeon.co/ideas/coding-is-not-fun-it-s-technically-and-ethically-complex
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madacoo
> you’d never hear someone say that brain surgery is ‘fun’

Surgery is cutting an incredibly complex meaty system apart and then sowing it
back together. I don't believe for a second that there isn't anyone who finds
that fun.

Probably a terrible idea to tell the patient that though.

Given the choice between a brain surgeon who gets a similar kind of enjoyment
from it is as I do coding, and one who finds the whole thing tedious and
uninteresting, I'd prefer my chances with the former.

Although I'd hope they are a much better surgeon than I am a coder.

Just because something is fun doesn't mean it is trivial.

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slimsag
Seriously, this. I was recently faced with the difficult situation of having
to consider surgery for one of my cats.

Unfortunately she ultimately passed away. But actually the one thing that gave
me real confidence was that everyone I spoke to said that the surgeons there
enjoy doing surgery.

Telling me this actually gave me more confidence in them than any other
information they could have provided (including survival rates). Surgery is
hard, complex, and ethically challenging (IMO). Knowing that a surgeon enjoys
what they do just means to me that they are more likely to pay attention to
detail (in all forms, including whether or not to do the surgery) and the
complexity involved.

To be honest, I would feel significantly less certain about having a surgery
done if the surgeon wouldn't tell me they enjoy it or found it _at least_
interesting.

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PaulHoule
I don't see how "technical and ethically complex" doesn't mean you can't enjoy
it.

~~~
azhu
I think the author is driving at the fact that labelling something ethically
and technically heavyweight like ML programming as 'fun' downplays and
obscures the gravity of the activity.

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saagarjha
Art is technically and ethically complex. I don't see anyone telling me to not
do it. This seems like an excuse piece discourage people from doing computer
science because it's "too hard".

~~~
glibgil
Don't do art. Most art is pretty bad

~~~
saagarjha
…so is most software?

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mkgolden
Why do articles like this even exist? Wish I could get the 2 minutes I spent
reading it and typing this out, back.

~~~
deburo
Haha, I thought as well. Here's a quote to further that point:

Attaining this level of concentration requires a state of mind called being
‘in the flow’, a quasi-symbiotic relationship between human and machine that
improves performance and motivation.

As if the concentration required to code is anything special. And that fantasy
bit about human-machine relationship.

~~~
p1necone
Agreed, I've experienced the same "flow" playing The Sims. It's not _that_
special.

Edit: actually, I probably got even more intensely into a flow state making
custom tracks in Trackmania, but The Sims is more well known.

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redhale
>Insisting on the glamour and fun of coding is the wrong way to acquaint kids
with computer science.

This article approaches parody. This is as ridiculous as criticizing programs
that promote STEM by focusing on fun experiments. Kids don't need to know the
full complexity of the field from the start.

Michael Scott put it best: "You don't go to the science museum and get handed
a pamphlet on electricity. You go to the science museum and you put your hand
on a metal ball, your hair sticks up straight... and you know science."

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dvtrn
_In an ever-more intricate and connected world, where software plays a larger
and larger role in everyday life, it’s irresponsible to speak of coding as a
lightweight activity._

Is this what the author considers 'ethically complex'?

I was really hoping for something with some weight to it that would make way
for deep thinking on the matter, but as presented...I'm not finding anything
convincing about this bit of writing that the target audience (or who I
suppose the target audience, because even that's hard to distill) doesn't
already know, or anything that identifies or summarily challenges any
frameworks of the 'ethics' of 'coding'.

 _More and more ‘decisions’ are being entrusted to software, including life-
or-death ones: think self-driving cars; think semi-autonomous weapons; think
Facebook and Google making inferences about your marital, psychological or
physical status, before selling it to the highest bidder._

 _Maybe_ it's this line? But I stand on my soapbox and say these aren't
ethical issues of 'coding', these are ethical issues that already exist,
'coding' is merely the most present manifestation of these things, flavorful
carrots dangled at the end of a long stick wielded and ultimately controlled
by human operators. Are those issues inherently ethical to coding? I posit
they are not

