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Joe Brinkman
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4 months ago
in Patterns, Purists, and Sinkholes : Rob Conery on Rob Conery
The problem with all of the "Here are the rules - follow them" crowd is that it lacks historical perspective. Building codes and rules and principles are different all over the world. Building code in Hawaii are different from building codes in Tibet which are different still from building codes in Washington DC. In addition, those codes did not spring up over the course of a single decade or even 2. In fact most other professions have been around for hundreds or thousands of years and have built up a set of principles and rules over a long period of time. New ideas have been tried and tested and only when those ideas have been proven out for a sufficient period have they been formally adopted, and even longer still until they are codified.
In the 20+ years I've been involved in the programming industry I have seen plenty of principles, methodologies and practices come and go. Our industry is very different from almost every other profession in that we are constantly undergoing extreme change, where most other professions are very stable. As we continue to mature and our industry stabilizes then we will find those principles and practices which have withstood the test of time and it won't require a ton of arm twisting for the industry as a whole to accept them.
The other aspect of this that must be considered is that our industry still has problems with finding sufficient talent to perform all the programming/architectural work that needs to be done. There is much greater demand than there are available, trained software engineers/architects to fill that demand. This always leads to companies taking shortcuts and hiring whoever can provide results, even if the results are not perfect. If we were like every other profession and required our professionals to have a formal degree, then it is doubtful that half of the people commenting on this blog would even have the necessary qualifications to make these comments. We have taken a bunch of carpenters, asked them to behave as if they were architects/engineers, and then yell at them because they are not following basic architectural principles - well DUH! They're not architects - they're carpenters and day laborers.
In the 20+ years I've been involved in the programming industry I have seen plenty of principles, methodologies and practices come and go. Our industry is very different from almost every other profession in that we are constantly undergoing extreme change, where most other professions are very stable. As we continue to mature and our industry stabilizes then we will find those principles and practices which have withstood the test of time and it won't require a ton of arm twisting for the industry as a whole to accept them.
The other aspect of this that must be considered is that our industry still has problems with finding sufficient talent to perform all the programming/architectural work that needs to be done. There is much greater demand than there are available, trained software engineers/architects to fill that demand. This always leads to companies taking shortcuts and hiring whoever can provide results, even if the results are not perfect. If we were like every other profession and required our professionals to have a formal degree, then it is doubtful that half of the people commenting on this blog would even have the necessary qualifications to make these comments. We have taken a bunch of carpenters, asked them to behave as if they were architects/engineers, and then yell at them because they are not following basic architectural principles - well DUH! They're not architects - they're carpenters and day laborers.
1 reply
David Nelson
It is true that software development has not been around as a discipline for very long (relatively speaking), and we are still going through the growing pains of learning what works and what doesn't, and formulating the rules that hopefully in another century every developer will know and use without question. But in the meantime, ignoring the efforts of the many intelligent and talented people who have worked to at least get us where we are today is arrogant and foolish. How can we ever make progress if we don't at least take note of what has already been tried, and evaluated how well it has worked? Otherwise we are will be stuff forever reinventing the wheel.
10 months ago
in Hacking Your Vote : Rob Conery on Rob Conery
I think anyone who seriously thinks this is a new problem or one that is limited to electronic/software systems clearly has not done their election homework. The Daley's were rigging elections in Chicago long before Diebold was involved. People also act as if the issue is one-sided and like to point to voting irregularities in Florida and Ohio, but ignore issues like the 2004 election for Governor in Washington State. I am not sure how anyone can have faith in the system when we have such systemic problems with cheating occurring on all sides of the political spectrum. I do not claim that the Republicans have clean hands in the matter, but get quite miffed when Democrats act as if they are completely innocent in the matter.
If we want to fix the issue then we need to insist that our elected officials at all levels implement procedures that increase confidence rather than undermine it. Telling me that election machines are rigged, even while politicians open up the absentee ballot process which has even fewer procedural safeguards than in-person voting is just insanity.
show all 3 replies
If we want to fix the issue then we need to insist that our elected officials at all levels implement procedures that increase confidence rather than undermine it. Telling me that election machines are rigged, even while politicians open up the absentee ballot process which has even fewer procedural safeguards than in-person voting is just insanity.
3 replies
sodablue
This isn't a partisan issue. Why try to make it one?
robconery
New or old Joe, the problem remains. Yes the Daley's rigged elections - so do dictatorships and 3rd world countries; your point isn't coming across here. It's well-understood that this is both sides of the aisle - and it's the main reason Kerry and others have decided not to challenge the system - once you do, everything unravels on BOTH sides.
You served to protect this democracy Joe, I would think that elections would matter a bit more to you than firing up the rhetoric... All I ask is that you watch that show, take off the party hat (it's not partisan at all - and in one scene they realize that Bush LOST votes) and tell me what you think it reasonable.
You served to protect this democracy Joe, I would think that elections would matter a bit more to you than firing up the rhetoric... All I ask is that you watch that show, take off the party hat (it's not partisan at all - and in one scene they realize that Bush LOST votes) and tell me what you think it reasonable.
