[edmundsauto]

I think we're using different meanings for software. I'm using it to include all things around building software -- requirements gathering, writing, shipping, maintaining, ops, deployment, etc.

Software is not predictable. That's why nobody can accurately predict how long a project will take.

[gamblor956]

Software is predictable compared to reality because every part of it is deterministic, or can be programmed to be deterministic.

The fact that most programmers are incapable of properly coding their software to be deterministic says more about the quality of the programmer than the difficulty of the field.

[edmundsauto]

Reality doesn't have to be deterministic to be predictable. Software components can be (theoretically) deterministic and still have unpredictable behaviors in complex systems.

The fact that these welders didn't clean the acetylene edges doesn't mean that this outcome was unpredictable. Wouldn't it say as much about the welders as the difficult of the field?

[ethbro]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nondestructive_testing