You weren’t born to just write code and die – Adam Bourg

As a software engineer we spend a good portion of ourselves developing software for the companies we work for and people we may or may not like. As a software engineer its important to invest in yourself, not just in building your skills but in the whole person.Investing in yourself means to become healthier, happier and smarter. It means to discover hobbies and interests outside of software like skiing or playing games. It also means to focus on learning, reading books, buying better equipment and developing your skills.

Source: You weren’t born to just write code and die – Adam Bourg

Why I Strive to be a 0.1x Engineer | Benji’s Blog –

The times I feel I’ve made most difference to our team’s effectiveness is when I find ways to not build things.

  • Let’s not build that feature. Is there existing software that could be used instead?

  • Let’s not add this functionality. Does the complexity it will introduce really justify its existence?

  • Let’s not build that product yet. Can we first do some small things to test the assumption that it will be valuable?

  • Let’s not build/deploy that development tool. Can we adjust our process or practices instead to make it unnecessary?

  • Let’s not adopt this new technology. Can we achieve the same thing with a technology that the team is already using and familiar with?“The best tool for the job” is a very dangerous phrase.

  • Let’s not keep maintaining this feature. What is blocking us from deleting this code?

  • Let’s not automate this. Can we find a way to not need to do it all?

Source: Why I Strive to be a 0.1x Engineer | Benji’s Blog –

What should we be teaching the next generation of computer scientists? | Times Higher Education (THE)

“For a long time we wondered why more people didn’t major in computer science,” Aiken reflects. “Everyone in the field believed it was the future and that [it] represented an important way of thinking. Now the world believes us, and we have an overwhelming number of students.”

Source: What should we be teaching the next generation of computer scientists? | Times Higher Education (THE)

The collaboration curse | The Economist

The biggest problem with collaboration is that it makes what Mr Newport calls “deep work” difficult, if not impossible. Deep work is the killer app of the knowledge economy: it is only by concentrating intensely that you can master a difficult discipline or solve a demanding problem. Many of the most productive knowledge workers go out of their way to avoid meetings and unplug electronic distractions. Peter Drucker, a management thinker, argued that you can do real work or go to meetings but you cannot do both. Jonathan Franzen, an author, unplugs from the internet when he is writing. Donald Knuth, a computer scientist, refuses to use e-mail on the ground that his job is to be “on the bottom of things” rather than “on top of things”. Richard Feynman, a legendary physicist, extolled the virtues of “active irresponsibility” when it came to taking part in academic meetings.

Source: The collaboration curse | The Economist

10 Habits that Kill an Engineer’s Productivity – Livecoding.tv Blog

Anyone that claims they are “good at multitasking” is flat-out lying.

Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of a person, machine, factory, system, etc., in converting inputs into useful outputs, according to businessdictionary.com. As such when engineers are unproductive, it…

Source: 10 Habits that Kill an Engineer’s Productivity – Livecoding.tv Blog

Report: Robots, other advances will cost humans 5.1 million jobs by 2020 | Ars Technica

“Ultimately, the WEF offers a massive list of recommendations for major companies to prepare for the 2020 robot-workforce apocalypse. The report’s authors use the strong phrase “no more excuses” regarding diversity in hiring, and they offer a longer-term recommendation for companies to invest in “wholescale reskilling” of their existing workforces. It also encourages businesses to engage with governments and educational providers in updating high school and college systems for a new economy. “Two legacy issues burdening formal education systems worldwide are the dichotomy between humanities and sciences and applied and pure training, on the one hand, and the prestige premium attached to tertiary-certified forms of education—rather than the actual content of learning—on the other hand. Put bluntly, there is simply no good reason to indefinitely maintain either of these in today’s world,” the report says.”

Source: Report: Robots, other advances will cost humans 5.1 million jobs by 2020 | Ars Technica

The other side of paradise | The Economist

“Tech firms that offer lavish perks to their staff do not do so out of the goodness of their hearts. They offer them because they expect people to work so hard that they will not have time for such mundane things as buying lunch or popping to the dry-cleaners. As Gerald Ledford of the University of Southern California’s business school puts it, they are “golden handcuffs” to keep people at their desks. Some of the most extravagant perks are illusions: “take as much holiday as you like” may really mean “take as little as possible, and as much as you dare.” Some have vaguely sinister undertones: might the option for women to freeze their eggs end up becoming the expectation?”

Source: The other side of paradise | The Economist