[semiotagonal]

I did about 0.1% of the amount of research you did a few years ago and was really struck by the irreversibility of mistakes. Other engineering domains can have irreversible (e.g. fatal) mistakes as well, but they don't have as many enthusiasts jumping in to the field.

[alanfalcon]

Our CTO likens developing a smart contract to civil engineering. Our CTO also remembers what it was like to ship your software in its final form on a floppy disk!

I think it’s great that more and more people are jumping in and learning what it’s like to develop in such an unforgiving domain (no point here, I just think it’s great!)

[exdsq]

I completely agree! It's sparked an interest in formal methods and learning more about how engineering takes place in other disciplines to improve their product quality.

[semiotagonal]

Learning on the job in an unforgiving domain can be costly.

[alanfalcon]

The blockchain is indeed fraught with peril. Code review, audits, and bug bounties are an absolute necessity when it comes to smart contracts! Learning in a high stakes situation seems pretty good as long as you have a robust support structure.