The Atlantic Magazine
The subtitle is A small group of programmers wants to change how we code—before catastrophe strikes.
Why is this in the Atlantic Magazine - and not in a programming magazine?
I have read it carefully, it is a long article - and can find no fault it it. Except for one thing - the Apocalypse has already happened, and I have been in it. Several times.
Apocalypse has been redefined. It now occurs piecemeal - some things go down, and some things go up. This is a big improvement, a huge improvement. Before, when most things went down - everything went down. Because everything was tied to everything else.
We are now divided into two worlds - the Mechanical world, made of real stuff. And the Software world, made of - nothing but software.
The two are connected - but only loosely.
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Pre-Industrial Time and Space
Now I live in Latin America, in Costa Rica, - where Industrialization has not penetrated very deeply. And I can see what a crucial difference this makes.
To put it simply - Latinos cannot plan. Because the ability to plan presupposes a universe where time and space are infinitely large and infinitely small - and uniform. Where every unit of time and space is the same. This was an important discovery of the Industrialized World - but much of the world (especially the Islamic World) prefers to be pre-industrial.
In the North, in Industrialized countries - this is taken for granted - and has made them rich. In the South - the very idea is resisted strongly, and they are poor. Their social abilities are still strong - but their Industrial abilities are weak.
I just bought a Pupusa from family that sets up a tent in front of the church on Saturdays. This took much longer that it should have, because the wife had gone off to buy the ingredients - and returned with some of them missing. In America, she would have had a shopping list, and bought everything on the list.
Down here, shopping lists are unknown - and are not considered very nice!
To put it simply - Latinos cannot plan. Because the ability to plan presupposes a universe where time and space are infinitely large and infinitely small - and uniform. Where every unit of time and space is the same. This was an important discovery of the Industrialized World - but much of the world (especially the Islamic World) prefers to be pre-industrial.
In the North, in Industrialized countries - this is taken for granted - and has made them rich. In the South - the very idea is resisted strongly, and they are poor. Their social abilities are still strong - but their Industrial abilities are weak.
I just bought a Pupusa from family that sets up a tent in front of the church on Saturdays. This took much longer that it should have, because the wife had gone off to buy the ingredients - and returned with some of them missing. In America, she would have had a shopping list, and bought everything on the list.
Down here, shopping lists are unknown - and are not considered very nice!
Ethics in Software
Software Developers, like everyone else - tiptoe carefully around this issue, instead of tackling it head on.
They like to think of themselves, as making software better and better - and in many ways they are.
But they are also employees of the company they work for - companies that profess the highest standards (of course) but in practice, are not interested in standards at all. I have watched in amazement, as these mediocre developers waste their time producing worthless software.
The best developers, by contrast, will only be interested in working on things they are interested in. And if their present job does not do this - they will move to one that does - one that makes their skills better, and their software better.
They like to think of themselves, as making software better and better - and in many ways they are.
But they are also employees of the company they work for - companies that profess the highest standards (of course) but in practice, are not interested in standards at all. I have watched in amazement, as these mediocre developers waste their time producing worthless software.
The best developers, by contrast, will only be interested in working on things they are interested in. And if their present job does not do this - they will move to one that does - one that makes their skills better, and their software better.
Honesty
America has become a dishonest nation - and sees nothing wrong with that. In fact, they are pleased with themselves, to have pulled this off so successfully.
A short historical review is in order here. We have to go back in time to see where we went wrong - in the 19th Century. Two forces were a work, back then - and they can be seen as honest behavior, and the impulse to make money - or to become powerful.
These two are not necessarily incompatible - it is possible to be honest and wealthy. But it is easier to be dishonest and wealthy. The end result is a defective economy. Once they have robbed the country of everything of value (they think) - something else will come along, and fix everything up again.
But so far, this something else has not come along - and everything keeps getting worse.
A short historical review is in order here. We have to go back in time to see where we went wrong - in the 19th Century. Two forces were a work, back then - and they can be seen as honest behavior, and the impulse to make money - or to become powerful.
These two are not necessarily incompatible - it is possible to be honest and wealthy. But it is easier to be dishonest and wealthy. The end result is a defective economy. Once they have robbed the country of everything of value (they think) - something else will come along, and fix everything up again.
But so far, this something else has not come along - and everything keeps getting worse.
Friday, September 29, 2017
Things that are Impressive, but Do Not Work
Yesterday, I went to Cartago, the nearest large town - to shop at a Walmart store, and pick up my mail, that is flown in from Miami. While I was there, I observed some of its recent architecture - and wondered at it.
One example is the train station. Costa Rica is suffering from traffic jams, from workers commuting to their jobs in the Central area, where the jobs are - and then returning to their homes, where they live. It decided to restore some of the railroads, so that workers could commute on them.
One of these Railroads ran eastward towards Cartago. They patched up the tracks, and bought some self-propelled trains to run on them - and published a timetable - that looked impressive. The original train station still existed, and was adequate - but they decided it had to look better. And they added some bizarre structures to do this.
Then it shut down everything! The trains stopped running, the station was closed - and no explanation was given. I thought people would be upset about this - but no one was. The Government does strange things, they knew - and they did not question why.
The basic pattern here is familiar - make things look impressive, but don't bother to make them work.
One example is the train station. Costa Rica is suffering from traffic jams, from workers commuting to their jobs in the Central area, where the jobs are - and then returning to their homes, where they live. It decided to restore some of the railroads, so that workers could commute on them.
One of these Railroads ran eastward towards Cartago. They patched up the tracks, and bought some self-propelled trains to run on them - and published a timetable - that looked impressive. The original train station still existed, and was adequate - but they decided it had to look better. And they added some bizarre structures to do this.
Then it shut down everything! The trains stopped running, the station was closed - and no explanation was given. I thought people would be upset about this - but no one was. The Government does strange things, they knew - and they did not question why.
The basic pattern here is familiar - make things look impressive, but don't bother to make them work.
They Can Not Only Survive, They Can Thrive
In an completely crazy world - and they will have no other.
Once again, I am trying to understand the world I left behind, when I moved to Costa Rica. And am finding the going difficult. How do you explain insanity?
I can only do what others have done - classify different types of insanity. And make an attempt to describe the American Madness.
I am living in a little town, that had many Americans and Canadians - a few years ago. I liked this, because it gave me someone to talk to, in English. But recently they have left in droves, and I have no one left to talk to.
I am reduced to trying to remember my past, and writing about it in my blog. And reading whatever I can get my hands on.
Such as an article about Freud, in the London Review of Books: From Shtetl to Boulevard - this describes the German Madness, that he participated in - and understood not at all.
I participated in the American Madness, that Americans have resisted understanding, with all their strength. This is one way to classify it - as a reversal of values. People who are determined to not be. And to not be good. And to make a world that is not good.
Got it?
Once again, I am trying to understand the world I left behind, when I moved to Costa Rica. And am finding the going difficult. How do you explain insanity?
I can only do what others have done - classify different types of insanity. And make an attempt to describe the American Madness.
I am living in a little town, that had many Americans and Canadians - a few years ago. I liked this, because it gave me someone to talk to, in English. But recently they have left in droves, and I have no one left to talk to.
I am reduced to trying to remember my past, and writing about it in my blog. And reading whatever I can get my hands on.
Such as an article about Freud, in the London Review of Books: From Shtetl to Boulevard - this describes the German Madness, that he participated in - and understood not at all.
I participated in the American Madness, that Americans have resisted understanding, with all their strength. This is one way to classify it - as a reversal of values. People who are determined to not be. And to not be good. And to make a world that is not good.
Got it?
Thursday, September 28, 2017
Getting It Right
I have been thinking about this myself, and now Uncle Bob's new book - Clean Architecture, a Craftsman's Guide to Software Structure and Design - plopped into my inbox, and I am relieved to find he is thinking about this too. I quote from him:
It doesn't take a huge amount of knowledge and skill to get a program working. But getting it right is hard.
In my experience, lots of things (including lots of programs) don't even get working - and thinking about getting it right, strikes most people as shear lunacy.
Now I must back up and explain how I got all this. I subscribe to the O'Reilly Safari service (for $40 a month) that gives me unlimited access to practically every software book written - plus lots of videos, and lots of other stuff. Anyone serious about software has to have this.
They sent me an email, saying I really had to have this book. I had never heard of Uncle Bob before, but he is one of the bright lights in the field. And now he is shining light my way also.
Now I must back up and explain how I got all this. I subscribe to the O'Reilly Safari service (for $40 a month) that gives me unlimited access to practically every software book written - plus lots of videos, and lots of other stuff. Anyone serious about software has to have this.
They sent me an email, saying I really had to have this book. I had never heard of Uncle Bob before, but he is one of the bright lights in the field. And now he is shining light my way also.
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