[LINK] Where Are the Software Engineers of Tomorrow?

Jan Whitaker jwhit at melbpc.org.au
Sun Jan 13 14:15:58 AEDT 2008


At 12:33 PM 13/01/2008, Janet Hawtin wrote:
>What kinds of space, time, constructive risk, legal opportunity to
>participate, cross generational collaboration, mess, mistakes and
>questions would provide a stronger habitat for Australian invention
>and make culture?
>
>Where are the software engineers of tomorrow? Perhaps shopping for clues?
>What other ways to find/make clues are there?

I think you've hit on something here, Janet. Risk aversion [cotton 
wool upbringing, stranger danger, anti-septic everything], focus on 
near-perfect quality as the only acceptable outcome, and probably a 
few other 'value' changes, don't exactly make for experimentation. We 
live in a time of 'make a buck' pragmatism, at least it has been. 
People aren't expected to play, with ideas or tools or much of 
anything any more [your point about lack of sheds].

Australia, and at one time America as well, was a frontier country. 
Necessity was the mother of invention. Risk wasn't a choice. You 
risked or you died trying. Nowadays, there is this attitude that you 
go buy your solutions off the shelf at Bunnings or from your friendly 
outsourcer, throw away and buy a new widget if it doesn't work any 
more [cheaper solution that repair], and keep up to date with the 
Joneses even more quickly than in the past. Keeps the economy ticking 
over doncha know. Must keep buying.

The productivity  line we got in the last election was much about 
capacity building. But I'm not sure we have the pervasive value in 
the culture any more to do that. Where is the necessity  bit again? 
How is that identified or created? how does the spark get lit?

I know that's a long way from the issue of software engineers, but I 
think that specific area may just be a symptom of a much larger 
problem. Of course, I may be saying the same things others did 30 or 
40 years ago.

Jan


Jan Whitaker
JLWhitaker Associates, Melbourne Victoria
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com
personal: http://www.janwhitaker.com/personal/
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Living, like writing, requires no wisdom. Only revising does. - Jim 
Sollisch, Sept, 2007
'Seed planting is often the most important step. Without the seed, 
there is no plant.' - JW, April 2005
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