That's why it's in quotes. He's using a gaming term (those who throw time instead of logic at the problem).
Some of you need to learn how to read, or learn how to not get so emotional.
How is anyone supposed to infer that from the quotes? I am not a gamer so I would never know this. Its domain specific jargon that overlaps with long standing definitions.
It's very clear if you read his full piece.
That's the problem with mob justice right? Never the right facts but the pitchforks are already out so lets rage...
I would call players who expend time in lieu of skill "grinders." "Farming," on the other hand, is often a late-game playstyle which gets the best results (farming for rares to fully equip a build).
I mean the necessity to do this can be seen as bad game design, and maybe the players are dummies for picking bad games (although the Diablo and Destiny series are pretty well received), but this sort of thing is required to play at the highest levels...
comparing software development (which, let's be honest, is super cushy) to farming is insulting.
I think farming is misunderstood because historically it's what 95% of people did, and it wasn't all that high tech. Not that pre-modern farming was easy: there's endless nuances about how to actually grow plants/animals optimally. But modern farming is ridiculously high tech. A modern farmer is a business owner, a logistics engineer, a mechanic, a programmer/hacker, and a labourer. I'm probably missing a dozen sub-professions of farmer. I bet "calories generated per farmer per year" would be a fascinating timeseries graph to view.
it's crazy good. small spoiler: it starts with jeremy buying a lamborghini tractor, because, well, it's a lambo!
at the end of the day, it made him respect farmers quite hard. and it showed a ton of people (including me!) how does modern farming works.