Codhisattva

Keep in mind this is a hypothesis and lacks significant supportive evidence. Even after 38 years.

What's the Internet for if not hyperbole and over generalization?

I vetted the company by talking with a friend who works there and by being mindful throughout the interviewing process. So I have a reasonable expectation. I had other great offers and I've worked in a lot of different kinds of companies so I know how to look and what to look for now.

Of course, there could also be a quagmire of corporate politics and sloth that won't get revealed for months. If that happens, I'll reevaluate periodically and open the door to change.

Even in the best case, I don't expect I'll work there for the rest of my life. 5 or 10 years would be fine and all I look for right now.

[Edit: added more thoughts below]

I think the crux is learning about yourself and what you want out of a job, and out of life. That takes time, it's a nonlinear process, and it's non-deterministic too. Make mistakes (embrace them, not fear them), be prepared for change (keep a few month's worth of cash in the bank), follow your dreams, and do the things you love as much as possible.

And try everything. Live life to it's fullest.

"Everything in excess! To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks." - Lazarus Long (RAH).

Quit gracefully. Even the taking the first step can be relieving.

This a thousand times.

I just quit a job because the work was dull, unimportant and consisted largely in cleaning up other people's messes.

I'm replacing it with a job at a company with high values and strong ethics, a profitable and secure business model and it's a company I enjoy. I'll be working on a project from start to finish and code quality will be my driving force.

Quit your junk job and find a situation that matches your principles and values. Do it today.

This is the most honest statement I've read about the founder myth yet.

Dear engineer, you are the product.

This makes me wonder about the negative feedback inherent in code reviews.

That's the best point made yet - use TDD only if it's appropriate.

DHH's use of hyperbolic metaphors discredits the point he's trying to make. He has no factual argument so he exaggerates small points and maligns practitioners. It's sad.

Great innovation. That invasive carp is crap for ecosystems.

It's sad, but there's no fact or even research behind Galdwell's "10000 hour" thing. Like most of his books, it's just made up bs.

I agree it's a business model. Unfortunately I don't think many of the startup participants are aware they are the product.

Research trumps all :)

"Let instinct trump logic" - bad advice. Instinct is simply pattern matching current conditions against memory. Without experience, instinct is a poor criteria and logic should be employed. Read Kahneman for the supporting research into that.

Well said. I had the same conclusion - it's not research, it's confident sounding speculation.

The trap exposes the dirty little secret: you're not building a product to sell to customers, you're building a product to sell to investors.

The exit is the massage.

Shareware was a great increment from the publisher model. And then of course, AppStore is the real game changer.

Exactly. The first step for replacement is decommissioning existing coal plants.

As there's no (or little) political will to do this, the private sector (and specifically those that recognize the problem) can act directly.

And since it's the 21st century, it seems like Kickstarter is the way the private sector can do it.

How about a Kickstarter for buying coal plants and turning them off.

"Faster" versus "Fast Enough"

"Blank is dead" is the new "blank is the blank for blank".

'nuff said

Sometimes downvote means "I disagree". Since you proposed a transaction tax, most likely a libertarian apologist pounced on you.

It wasn't meant to be rude. My apologies for the ambiguity between tongue in cheek and rudeness.

Were this wikipedia or Stackoverflow I'd have just fixed it - I knew what you meant, of course.

The tongue in cheekiness comes from a (famous) quote from President Bush, "Is our children learning?" that the original title invoked.

GoBe A Sucker! (tm)

I refrained for commenting on it for as long as I could. I weighed the non-native speaker too but finally old George Bush quotes pushed me over the edge.

;)

Also, fix your damn title. "Our college is learning us outdated technology". Really?

First of all, college isn't vocational training. So get over the whole "get us a job easily" thing.

Your employment is dependent on the effort you make towards your chosen career.

The true purposes of college is to teach you how to learn, to expose you to many new ideas, and to give you the opportunity to focus your life on thinking with the least amount of distraction.

If the curriculum is different than what you desire, then write your own curriculum, enroll in independent study classes and discuss with your advisor how you can achieve your goals.

If you approach it from your personal perspective you'll have much more success than if you approach it in the way you state "tell professors..." or "improve our college program". Those are bureaucratic battles and who wants to learn about the gnarly dark under belly of academia? You can go that route, but to win you'll end up spending your nights and days formulating presentations to administrative decision makers. YAWN. Institutional change is hard in all the wrong ways and dull in every way. And you know what the most likely outcome will be? A dean will agree with you and promise to look into adding a JS class in the 2015-16 academic year. You'll feel victorious but the dean will forget about in 10 minutes.

By taking personal responsibility for your own curriculum you can achieve something greater than a college degree. You will learn and exhibit two of the most important attributes in the software industry: initiative and independent self education. If you master those skills you're well on your way to a great career in engineering.

It could become a furniture maker too.

Not a prank!