
Programming is a Super Power - acangiano
http://programmingzen.com/2011/03/21/programming-is-a-super-power/
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qjz
This week, I'm using my super power to replace a sign-up sheet in a clipboard
that once hung on an office door. Is there any menial task I cannot defeat? I
am Invincible!

~~~
m0th87
That's along the lines of what most programmers do, and each defeat is
chipping away at inefficiency. You're doing your part in the greatest
productivity revolution in history :)

~~~
marcusbooster
So something that could be done by anyone with a paper, pen, and the technical
know-how to operate a ruler, is now replaced by someone with a specialized
domain knowledge that is creating something that will need to be maintained
and likely obsolete in a few years. And they call this progress.

~~~
davidw
Perhaps I could interest in you in a sales position with my company,
<http://73primenumbers.com> ?:-)

~~~
makmanalp
Are Enron, Bernie Madoff and Worldcom really your clients? Might need a fix up
there :)

~~~
davidw
I guess I should update that and add Bear Stearns.

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tommorris
It really isn't. Can we please stop the 'superhero' meme?

I'm not a superhero. I'm just a person who knows a few programming languages
and can hack things together. It's not a great feat: it's just typing bits of
logic into a computer. If you can think logically and with a reasonable degree
of abstraction, you can do it too!

We should be shouting from the rooftop that it's fun and easy and giving
children lessons in Python or whatever, not turning ourselves in to a
priesthood just to boost our own egos.

The best sort of superheros are modest and work quietly in the background
rather than shouting about how awesome they are. Can we try that?

~~~
acangiano
I think that I may not have made my point clear. The point is not that we are
superheroes for knowing how to program, but rather than learning to program is
so cool that it's like having a super power, for what it enables you to build
and do. If you read the article, you'll see that I mention how even "product
guys" should learn how to program. In my next post, for example, I'll talk
about how to learn programming as an absolute beginner. When it comes to
programming I try to take a stance as far as possible from elitism.

~~~
jarek
Carpentry is a Super Power. The point is not that we are superheros for
knowing how to build, but rather that learning to build is so cool that its
like having a super power, for what it enables you to build and do.

~~~
khafra
Carpentry _is_ a super power. Just about every girlfriend I've had has been
very turned on by guys who can build things with their hands; my brother made
a (successful) engagement ring out of 5 different kinds of Amazonian hardwoods
that looked amazing. I think people like _why would agree that learning to
create things, regardless of the medium, is so cool that it's like having a
super power.

~~~
jarek
By this standard, pretty much anything that doesn't involve trivial desk job
paper pushing is a super power. Bricklaying? Check. Welding? Check. Mech eng?
Check. Digging ditches? Check. Everyone's special, Dash.

~~~
khafra
I see a fairly natural superpower line with welding and mechanical engineering
(alongside machining or some rapid prototyping ability) on one side, and
bricklaying, ditch digging, etc. on the other side.

Bricklayers and ditch diggers don't often think of something cool and then
make it happen with those particular skills.

~~~
jordanb
I've been learning to weld (using the TIG process) and it does have that cool
mixture of being able to produce amazing, strong physical objects and also
being Dark Magick for the average person. The TIG process in particular is a
mixture of science and art that makes you feel like a wizard when you start
getting good at it.

Watching a professional bricklayer work is pretty mesmerizing. The really good
ones achieve this rhythmic action where they seem to manage to quickly and
accurately place and set every brick while taking advantage of inertia of the
moving bricks to expend the minimum physical energy possible.

I don't think there are any ditchdiggers left in the united states though,
only bobcat or backhoe operators.

~~~
chopsueyar
I've seen robotic welders, but I've yet to see robotic bricklayers.

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bane
What does it mean to be superhuman?

We always think of superman or spiderman, people with the strength and powers
of minor deities. But really, somebody who is a mere 1% faster at something
than every other human on the planet is "superhuman".

Imagine a person who was 5% smarter, stronger, faster, etc. than any other
human on the planet...would they not be a kind of "superman"?

My day job has very little to do with development, it's much more a regular
old office type job (one of the reasons I'm so into working on my startup with
my wife, a chance to dust off and regularly use long dormant skills). What's
funny is on occasion I'll pull out a nerd tool, perhaps write a little Perl
script to automate some mind-numbing task, and for that moment my co-workers
think I'm a superhuman. What's even better is when I can teach them something
that punches up their abilities a bit.

Really simple things, like navigating Excel better, or teaching them simple
regular expressions. I taught a colleague some regex and he has payed it
forward by single handedly rewriting the process model where he works, turning
a grueling multi-week process of copy-and-paste (by hand) into a 30 minute
regex exercise. He freed up 30 people to do other stuff because now that
excruciating part of their business process has simply _poof_ gone away and
now they deliver 3-4 weeks earlier.

(I asked him why they didn't just use a technical solution earlier. He said
his management listened to the complaints from the staff about the problem and
brought in a bunch of consultants who recommended a very expensive IT effort,
complete with 230 page slide deck. He fixed it with a $27 TextPad license and
a day going over regex with me. Now he passes along this little sliver of
golden knowledge, infecting everyone he can with it. But alas, most of his co-
workers mere accept that _he's_ made it faster, and think they couldn't
possible do that themselves.)

It's not something intrinsic in developers that makes us superhuman, it's
merely a willingness to learn and sweat through all the mental work. A person
can improve 5% from where they are simply by a bit of effort, 5% isn't all
that much -- does that not make them superhuman with respect to themselves?
Can superhumanity be earned?

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jkeel
I like the spirit of what's being said. It's close to something I've been
telling a few folks recently which is this...

Being a software developer in this day and age is like being a magician
(wizard?). Sure those of us that know this voodoo magic find it commonplace
but to those outside it really is magical. I mean to be able interact with
people around the world with technology and have so much automated in finance,
retail, search, manufacturing, etc. is truly amazing if you stop and think
what we can do today that we couldn't do 20 or even 10 years ago.

I don't feel like a super hero, more like a accomplished wizard with some
tricks up his sleeves, but willing to help others learn the ways to control
information. Maybe a little corny, but I hope you all get the general
understanding.

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F_J_H
As per some of the other comments,I would prefer that we don't take the "super
hero" meme too far, especially since the barriers to entry are decreasing
every day as new, even easier to use tools, are rolled out. (For example, back
in the 90's, anyone with solid power point skills was a "Super Hero" to those
who needed presentations put together quickly and cheaply.) Being a really
good miner/gold panner in the 1840's would have also given a person "super
hero" like powers to the extent they could participate in the gold rush.

However, one thing that still stands out to me about programming is something
the Paul G. said in one of his essays. I don't remember which one and don't
have time to look for the exact wording, but it was something along the lines
that programming/IT was one of the last areas where someone, through their own
hard work, ingenuity and innovation, working in a "garage" could create
phenomenal wealth. Although very few will ever achieve Gates/Zuckerberg type
wealth (or even any kind of wealth at all), the very fact that it is
_possible_ is appealing to many. Plus, it's fun along the way...

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steverb
To paraphrase Erasmus: In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is a super-
hero.

~~~
kawera
Or, paraphrasing Saramago: In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is a
monster.

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satori99
A long time ago I heard someone say that software programming is the biggest
kick this side of black magic, and I still agree.

It still blows my mind to think that I can manipulate information by
manipulating the states of very small switches.

It _is_ black magic.

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zach
When you put it that way, _The Social Network_ seems a lot like Spider-Man
with computers.

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nadam
"Today we are standing on the shoulders of giants, and are able to access
amazing development tools, frameworks, and libraries "

Being able to make an impact mostly depends on how many other people have the
skills you have. So while I am still optimistic, I still like programming,
etc... I think making an impact today as a programmer is not easy. Me, who has
been programming for more than 20 years from now (I started at 12) I think my
business and product design knowledge is what is to be developed further to be
able to have a more balanced knowledge. It is not easy, I am better and
better, but my ideas are still too technical. I have to concentrate not to be
too technical. Of course for a business guy the other direction makes sense
(to develop technical knowledge besides business knowledge to be more
balanced.)

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mark_l_watson
Almost got it right: good programming skills _and_ the ability to get your
head into different problem areas of business and/or science is the super
power.

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gukjoon
It's a lot more like being able to read and write in medieval Europe.

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isuarez
I totally agree with this. We good skills we could do unlimited things. Good
ideas are a dime a dozen, but implementation is priceless. We have the power
to implement them.

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technomancy
Go us!

