Re:Of Geeks and Girls
by mechanical_fish on Tuesday December 01, 2009 @12:28PM
(#970149)
a field where stuff either works or it doesn't
What field are you talking about? I don't believe such a field exists. Not one that is worthy of the name "field".
It certainly isn't user-experience design, where there is obviously no bright line between "what works" and "what does not work", and where the value of a diverse team is easiest to appreciate. ("What, you mean the word processor user hasn't bothered to learn how to use a DVCS from the command line? Were they born yesterday?") But we needn't go that far. Everything that the hardest of hard-core geeks talk about all day long:
What language should we use?
Should I use emacs, vi, Textmate, Eclipse or Notepad?
Should I use Mac OS, Windows, or Linux here?
What database architecture is right for this task?
Come to think of it, am I even working on the right task?
...are choices between a bunch of options, all of which will "work" in one sense or another.
Even down-and-dirty C hacking requires an endless series of decisions between things which will work and things which might work better on one axis or another.
What field are you talking about? I don't believe such a field exists. Not one that is worthy of the name "field".
It certainly isn't user-experience design, where there is obviously no bright line between "what works" and "what does not work", and where the value of a diverse team is easiest to appreciate. ("What, you mean the word processor user hasn't bothered to learn how to use a DVCS from the command line? Were they born yesterday?") But we needn't go that far. Everything that the hardest of hard-core geeks talk about all day long:
...are choices between a bunch of options, all of which will "work" in one sense or another.Even down-and-dirty C hacking requires an endless series of decisions between things which will work and things which might work better on one axis or another.