[pbiggar]

Let's take the metaphor of writing. Would we say this guy is just a writer who started from another trade? No. Writing is something that used to require experts (scribes) and that now anyone can do and is just a normal part of doing any work.

Developers are scribes - we have sacred knowledge that is now being democratized because everyone can do it due to good enough tools. As a result, we won't be needed much going forward.

[joshstrange]

> Developers are scribes - we have sacred knowledge that is now being democratized because everyone can do it due to good enough tools. As a result, we won't be needed much going forward.

The ability to solve problems is what’s important. Not your ability to remember things or to hold sacred knowledge.

[vunderba]

This. Software development probably requires some of the least boilerplate memorization in all of STEM. Deductive reasoning and imagination are far more important than being flexing that you’ve committed quicksort to memory.

[0x20cowboy]

If that were true, industry interview processes would be very different.

[AndrewKemendo]

What is this “sacred knowledge?”

Is it knowing how to write a regex without a reference, or maybe implementing a distributed ec postgres cluster using bash, ooh how about writing a minimum cnn in C for edge classification ooohhh wooowee…

Ever worked construction? There’s hammer swingers that need one swing per nail and never miss. Or plasterers that make chalk look like marble. How about a high voltage lineman that can switch a 20kv oil-cooled transformer in less than 15 minutes to get the power to the school back on

No different from any tradesman - we’re not special

[nkrisc]

Writing is a tool, a technology. Much like hammers or saws, which are also commodified. And even though anyone can go buy a saw, not everyone is a carpenter.

[mmooss]

> Writing is a tool, a technology.

Like paint, it can be used as a tool, to paint your house, or as a craft and artform, to paint the Rouen Cathedral.

[nkrisc]

Paint is a tool to deposit pigment on a substrate. The tool does not make the artist.

[pbiggar]

Exactly. and that's what development is becoming.

[andyferris]

I am not a carpenter; I use a saw at least once a month.