Re:Generative models and programming talent
by shevertalov on Tuesday July 22, 2008 @04:09PM
(#253591)
The bias point is well made. I don't remember the quote exactly, but i think it's something like "...when all you know are hammers, everything looks like a nail...". Though I think his point is that you have to at least be able to form models about the problems you tackle and stick to those models. I feel like you need some commitment or vision to be able to move on. Development tends to have two phases, exploration and exploitation. Balancing the two is a real problem. If you exploit too soon you may miss a much better solution, but if you do too much exploring you may just be wasting time. Balancing the two contributes to writing good code it seems.
One tactic that increases adaptability is not forming a model until you actually have to; this avoids confirmation bias.
You're also right about the nature of the test: as an experiment, it does show that presence of generative models predicts success. I'm interested in education, so I'm voicing the reason why this wouldn't be a practical test of qualification.