[solanav]

I can understand this from the perspective of a manager or company owner. "Happiness comes from shipping products" or "Choose boring technology" make a lot of sense if you are maximizing profit and don't need to work with the tech yourself.

If you are an engineer and you want to try a new technology, go for it. Even if it doesn't make sense. Learn new things, don't stick with the boring tech. Maximize your own happiness and your own knowledge, not the profit of your higher-ups.

[cjfd]

Actually, also as an engineer much happiness comes from shipping products. Also, happiness comes from programming as opposed to configure and/or repearing a baroque tech stack with technologies that are not needed anyway but still break every other week. The latter thing comes with anger and the desire to scold (if not worse) the persons who needlessly brought in the complexity. If you want to learn new things there is your spare time where you are welcome to experiment with whatever.

[h3mb3]

> "Choose boring technology" make a lot of sense if you are maximizing profit and don't need to work with the tech yourself.

This view feels so strange to me.

As an engineer, I find myself the happiest when I manage to build the simplest and the most maintainable thing for the business requirements. Extra happy, if it turns out we didn't paint ourselves into a corner when those requirements increase or change.

I just want to minimize my own tears in the future.

> If you are an engineer and you want to try a new technology, go for it. Even if it doesn't make sense.

Imagine how immoral this advice sounded like if it came from the mouth of a carpenter, an auto mechanic or a doctor.

Maybe this just activates my PTSD acquired from working in a startup with a long history of codecampers doing CV-Driven Development.

[DC1350]

Why do you care how successful the company you work for is?

[mikewarot]

>If you are an engineer and you want to try a new technology, go for it. Even if it doesn't make sense. Learn new things, don't stick with the boring tech. Maximize your own happiness and your own knowledge, not the profit of your higher-ups.

Yes, by all means, have fun, at HOME, not on company time.

[WJW]

Boring technology also has the benefit of not waking you up in the middle of the night as often, because most of the weird bugs have been rooted out by other people. This can also be a downside of course, depending on how your particular org rewards "firefighters".

[XCSme]

> Learn new things, don't stick with the boring tech

If you had a choice, isn't it better to build cool stuff with boring technology instead of building boring stuff with cool technology?

I think his point was to focus more on the product not on technology, and by choosing a boring technology you will likely have more time and fewer problems shipping awesome products.

[serial_dev]

Totally, one can understand both sides.

In my opinion, it also works in the other direction, where the managers push things onto the developers. "Can we use this blockchain thing?", "we need to do AI", "we should use this cross platform mobile app tool I heard and read 3 minutes about".

[reader_mode]

>If you are an engineer and you want to try a new technology, go for it. Even if it doesn't make sense. Learn new things, don't stick with the boring tech. Maximise your own happiness and your own knowledge, not the profit of your higher-ups.

If you're a responsible adult you'll probably be the one who has to ship the stuff you started with the "flashy framework X" - boring technology is about maximising happiness - it just takes a while for this to sink in.

[FeepingCreature]

Learn new things, don't stick with the boring tech, try exciting new products.

Don't put them on the critical path of your company without an exit plan.