Such an interesting view of another perspective! I am so different from the author that reading the essay is a bit like learning about a new civilization. Here's how I differ:
> Using Your Brain Considered Harmful
I love using my brain. I don't want to minimize that at all. Reducing the need for brainpower would reduce one of the things that appeals to me about this profession.
> Problem: Software engineering is complicated.
I don't consider that a problem, I consider that an upside.
> this task is also the best description of the work of a software engineer: reducing complexity.
We're more or less on the same page here, though, but with a bit of nuance. Programming is not really about reducing the complexity of the task (although it is about reducing the complexity of the code), it's about complexity management.
> "Sleep only when you're very sleepy, eat only when you're very hungry". I would add: "Think hard only when you really need to think hard".
Again, this is from the point of view that thinking is an unpleasant process.
> Breaking up a big task into smaller, simpler, easier steps? That's the textbook recipe for reducing complexity!
I guess I don't quite understand what the author means by "reducing complexity". I'd say that's a recipe for complexity management. It doesn't inherently reduce complexity at all, it just changes the nature of that complexity to help make it manageable.
> Once you've cut your task into smaller steps, you can turn off your brain. You won't need that bag of meat anymore.
I simply disagree with this. Once it's broken into smaller steps, you need your brain to be able to knit those steps together so everything works coherently. When I write it out like that, it sounds pedantic, but I don't think that it is.
Anyway, none of this is a criticism of the article at all. It's just me being fascinated by a point of view that is so different from mine as to be noteworthy to me. In the end, everyone's brain works differently and we each find approaches to using it that work best for us. There is no right or wrong here, only what works for a given person and what doesn't.
> Using Your Brain Considered Harmful
I love using my brain. I don't want to minimize that at all. Reducing the need for brainpower would reduce one of the things that appeals to me about this profession.
> Problem: Software engineering is complicated.
I don't consider that a problem, I consider that an upside.
> this task is also the best description of the work of a software engineer: reducing complexity.
We're more or less on the same page here, though, but with a bit of nuance. Programming is not really about reducing the complexity of the task (although it is about reducing the complexity of the code), it's about complexity management.
> "Sleep only when you're very sleepy, eat only when you're very hungry". I would add: "Think hard only when you really need to think hard".
Again, this is from the point of view that thinking is an unpleasant process.
> Breaking up a big task into smaller, simpler, easier steps? That's the textbook recipe for reducing complexity!
I guess I don't quite understand what the author means by "reducing complexity". I'd say that's a recipe for complexity management. It doesn't inherently reduce complexity at all, it just changes the nature of that complexity to help make it manageable.
> Once you've cut your task into smaller steps, you can turn off your brain. You won't need that bag of meat anymore.
I simply disagree with this. Once it's broken into smaller steps, you need your brain to be able to knit those steps together so everything works coherently. When I write it out like that, it sounds pedantic, but I don't think that it is.
Anyway, none of this is a criticism of the article at all. It's just me being fascinated by a point of view that is so different from mine as to be noteworthy to me. In the end, everyone's brain works differently and we each find approaches to using it that work best for us. There is no right or wrong here, only what works for a given person and what doesn't.