bogrollben

I guess I'm out of touch. What did china do to german cars?

The arguments put forward are very weak, in my opinion. It made me depressed, not hopeful, as in: if this is all we have left, things are becoming desperate indeed.

To elaborate, if coding is like art, it's the worst art there is. It's far closer to something like legos and the satisfaction you get from completing a noteworthy build. Maybe that's the writer's point - yes it's still worthwhile, in a purely hobbyist sort of way.

I find the "coding helps math" argument to be similarly weak. Yes, it certainly helps with algebra, but overall I would argue the coding flavor of math largely helps more coding type of math. It's a strange type of math with loops and rules and conditionals that wouldn't be mainstream if software wasn't so mainstream to begin with. When you pull back the covers, the argument sounds more circular than something with true meat on the bones.

I have an older kindle and I can still load it with epubs by emailing the unique kindle address. I think there are other ways too, via USB for example.

My understanding is that it's only downloading via the amazon kindle store that is no longer supported for devices that are considered end-of-life, which makes sense to me personally. The kindle web browser is probably based on an ancient android version of chrome. That browser is not going to last forever.

I have 3 teenagers and this claim seems plainly obvious to me.

This. Also, the feelings have become stronger as I age.

One thing I don't see talked about often is the fact that not all duplication is equal. Duplicated html/xml/markup does not equal template-based boiler plate, which does not equal almost everything else. I'm far more forgiving of duplicate html/markup because that code is so cheap.

rubber-ducking and pair programming have wildly different investment costs

Brilliantly poignant. Before AI, I don't think this would've resonated with me, but it sure does now.

this made me oof. well said.

I agree 100%.

The issue isn't losing my job. Many of us could deal with that by simply finding another similar job in the same (coding) industry. The issue is losing the entire industry.

That thing you spent years becoming good at? Getting paid lots of money for? Oh, we killed it. Start over and pick something else. You probably won't be paid well, if you can even find anything, because you're starting from ground zero and competing with all the other people flooding the job market. Oh, and yes, it'll require massive life adjustment on your part. Good luck!

agreed - I was shocked how quickly I became immersed reading this relatively simple story.

I enjoyed the article. Many comments here on HN seem to be missing the point.

The author isn't bashing on "hobbies" and is not even bashing on "vanity activities". S/he is merely challenging us to acknowledge them for what they are. Stop kidding yourself.

If you churn credit cards (for example) and are one of the 10% that can make it truly profitable, then good for you. The other 90% are probably kidding themselves. Same for the other examples. The author is encouraging a self-sanity check. Are you in the 10% or the 90%, and wherever you land, are you okay with that? If not, you may want to reevaluate, pick something else, or make peace with it. It's better than kidding yourself.

I've recently (last 3 years) begun writing fantasy novels and I'm now working on my sixth. What inspired me wasn't a beautifully written novel but a terrible one. The author had written many works and published them, all of which were trash. I thought, if this shmuck can do it then surely I can too. Turns out it was true. I now make it a habit of occasionally reading terrible writing. It's a great motivator!

I don't have to be the best writer in the world. I just want to be better than THAT guy.

As a movie, this would do well at the Cannes Film Festival.

This entire article reads like a cleverly-camouflaged ad. I keep trying to find the product they're pushing. UIzard/UX Pilot maybe? I guess there IS no ad, but the whole thing is just ... weird.

This was great - thank you!

THIS + 1.

I would go a step further. People kid themselves all the time. Even being brutally honest, I might say I would pay for something and bail at the last step, changing my mind. It's kinda like if you write a book and ask your friend to read it and they say "sure, I will!" and they never do.

Oof. You got me.

today I learned I really suck at Doom.

Posted yesterday, currently with 341 comments, here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42461530

Could someone please explain what I'm looking at here? Am I the only one mystified?

I think we all struggle with this, and you need to realize that that's okay. Historically, I've indulged in short-term passion projects that have driven a high degree of learning in a short amount of time. There were also 2 different occasions where I was able to convince my boss to fund some form of on-the-job training where I learned a ton of new programming skills on company time.

In general though, I don't have the energy for it, especially throwing a wife, kids, pets, house upkeep, etc into the mix. Life gets in the way, and that's okay, because that's sort of the point - your life is supposed to come first.

I just signed up for shepherd last week (I still need to fill out the word template and get it back to you). Had no idea you were on Hacker News! Any competition against GoodReads is good news, in my book! :D

- another Ben

Nice article.

I'd like to point out that a mature/legacy codebase contains every example listed under the "smell" section of the article, sometimes even within the same file. This creates a great deal of complexity to unwind beyond the mere coding of it all.

I can't believe I read this entire article. The topic matter was utterly banal but... I was completely enthralled!

Your writing (particularly the hidden notes) is fantastic. Loved it!

I'm at the point where I feel fed up with too much talk about self-improvement. It's ok to not be productive and just enjoy things. Enjoy relationships, the sunshine, even video games or something that is literally a waste of time.

Maybe I got burned out by goal-setting and productivity talk. It also might be some remnants of some mild depression I had lately. I guess I just don't like feeling pressured to constantly improve, otherwise I'm not "living 100%" like I should be.

So when I read things like this, it grates my nerves: >> "In this process though you will become a better human being. You will get better at living. You will have less pain down the road. Your path will be smoother."

It suggests the inverse: that if you're not improving, you're less of a human being. I'm not sure if the author meant it that way, but that's definitely the way I took it.

I don't understand why they only painted a single blade black. Why not all of them?

I don't like it. It sounds too close to "we've always done it this way" which is often a terrible answer to someone challenging the status quo.

"We don't do that here" is very easy to abuse.

my my my how the turntables

Work hard, don't be a jerk and you'll be fine.

A lot of ambition these days is misplaced in my opinion. Why don't you try crossing over some of these diversified interests? Some very interesting things can happen when you mix disparate interests and before you know it, you could be one of the authorities in something new.

Or if not, then at the very least just keep being a great employee. There's plenty of room in tech for people that are consistently good but average. Remember "average" means you're already better than half the people! Rockstars are way overrated but they get all the attention. Don't buy the hype. Right now in tech (and the economy in general - speaking of the US here), employers would give their right arm just for a solid worker that shows up consistently and on-time. Showing up is half the battle.

Also maybe lean into the boredom a little. Sometimes boredom can be a great motivator into doing something different, wacky or new.