Just read another big tech post about the future of software engineering.
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@grimalkina I’m sorry this is a thing you’ve had to do, Cat — and at the same time, I’m so glad this post exists. It’s beautiful.
@beep @grimalkina Co-sign — this is a beautiful piece.
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I find it kind of interesting because I've seen it across so many spaces and cycles in tech. Women suddenly are invited into spaces when it's "time to do culture" and "time to get stable" not when it's "time for wild predictions"! We can make wild predictions too
@grimalkina YES, let women be absolute feral weirdos is my entire ideology.
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@CCochard yes. People have exploded on me with rage for not being totally right when I was just thinking out loud and trying to imagine. They bestow this kind of horrific responsibility on you that you never agreed to.
@grimalkina I don't think I fully dare expressing new ideas I have to avoid being seen as unreliable... Half my work is research...
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@beep @grimalkina Co-sign — this is a beautiful piece.
@debcha I thought of your “not a maker” essay too, friend
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People are always gonna read this kind of thing as "shrill" or whatever so please picture me saying this in a super bored, calm, chill voice which is accurate. There's always a contraction around who gets to speak first and loudest when things are about The Future
@grimalkina But on the other hand, when it comes to computing, women *were* first. Back when the programming part was considered boring and secretarial. I love those photos of early programmers walking inside of mainframes in dresses and heels, getting shit done.
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In this piece I wrote several years ago I had a ton of stories that could've illustrated feeling excluded from creativity in tech, but I used this story about not being given access to a makerspace specifically because it was so evocative to me! So on the nose
On Craft
My grandpa -- my Missouri grandpa, who played slide guitar to me when I got homesick on the rare occasions I stayed with them -- grew up on a farm without electricity. He went past eighth grade, which really mattered to him. He loved that I played harp, which he always called "elegant," in an extremely Missouri accent, an accent that hugged every syllable. Since living in California, I never hear this way of speaking. Recently I heard his accent on TV and cried unexpectedly, ugly crying, startli
drcathicks (www.drcathicks.com)
@grimalkina Thank you for sharing that! The makerspace part is so odd to me, but of course also not surprising, because I have had the experience that everyone benefits so much from the access to explore their creativity
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Every once in a while I have to write myself back into staying in tech and writing this piece was one of those times.
@grimalkina That's perhaps one of the things that bothers me most when we look "up" to our tech leaders and see nothing but a bunch of rich men. Their desires for the future are so warped, and yet their ambition and perverse outlook of the future is what steers the ship and sets the tone of our technological culture.
It's such a stark difference when you see something different, as I did recently when watching the doc "Ghost in the Machine" (which I reviewed on my site) and see how beautiful and wise diversity can be...
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In this piece I wrote several years ago I had a ton of stories that could've illustrated feeling excluded from creativity in tech, but I used this story about not being given access to a makerspace specifically because it was so evocative to me! So on the nose
On Craft
My grandpa -- my Missouri grandpa, who played slide guitar to me when I got homesick on the rare occasions I stayed with them -- grew up on a farm without electricity. He went past eighth grade, which really mattered to him. He loved that I played harp, which he always called "elegant," in an extremely Missouri accent, an accent that hugged every syllable. Since living in California, I never hear this way of speaking. Recently I heard his accent on TV and cried unexpectedly, ugly crying, startli
drcathicks (www.drcathicks.com)
@grimalkina This is a beautiful piece. Thank you for re-sharing it!
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In this piece I wrote several years ago I had a ton of stories that could've illustrated feeling excluded from creativity in tech, but I used this story about not being given access to a makerspace specifically because it was so evocative to me! So on the nose
On Craft
My grandpa -- my Missouri grandpa, who played slide guitar to me when I got homesick on the rare occasions I stayed with them -- grew up on a farm without electricity. He went past eighth grade, which really mattered to him. He loved that I played harp, which he always called "elegant," in an extremely Missouri accent, an accent that hugged every syllable. Since living in California, I never hear this way of speaking. Recently I heard his accent on TV and cried unexpectedly, ugly crying, startli
drcathicks (www.drcathicks.com)
@grimalkina Whew; your grandpa is really having an effect on me too. Thanks for sharing.
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In this piece I wrote several years ago I had a ton of stories that could've illustrated feeling excluded from creativity in tech, but I used this story about not being given access to a makerspace specifically because it was so evocative to me! So on the nose
On Craft
My grandpa -- my Missouri grandpa, who played slide guitar to me when I got homesick on the rare occasions I stayed with them -- grew up on a farm without electricity. He went past eighth grade, which really mattered to him. He loved that I played harp, which he always called "elegant," in an extremely Missouri accent, an accent that hugged every syllable. Since living in California, I never hear this way of speaking. Recently I heard his accent on TV and cried unexpectedly, ugly crying, startli
drcathicks (www.drcathicks.com)
@grimalkina this is the kind of writing that makes me want to be better at writing. Great piece
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Just read another big tech post about the future of software engineering. Lots of people quoted: not a single woman quoted.
@grimalkina Science fiction used to be this way too, but there are so many great writers of all genders that I'm reading. I just worry that the Cory Doctorows of the female gender aren't getting the full throated amplification they deserve, culturally.
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@tobychev what are you talking jumping in here with MTG??
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People are always gonna read this kind of thing as "shrill" or whatever so please picture me saying this in a super bored, calm, chill voice which is accurate. There's always a contraction around who gets to speak first and loudest when things are about The Future
@grimalkina There's no tone you could possibly take that would render acceptable the fact you're pointing out!
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In this piece I wrote several years ago I had a ton of stories that could've illustrated feeling excluded from creativity in tech, but I used this story about not being given access to a makerspace specifically because it was so evocative to me! So on the nose
On Craft
My grandpa -- my Missouri grandpa, who played slide guitar to me when I got homesick on the rare occasions I stayed with them -- grew up on a farm without electricity. He went past eighth grade, which really mattered to him. He loved that I played harp, which he always called "elegant," in an extremely Missouri accent, an accent that hugged every syllable. Since living in California, I never hear this way of speaking. Recently I heard his accent on TV and cried unexpectedly, ugly crying, startli
drcathicks (www.drcathicks.com)
Absolutely agree with your most compelling tale.
And the arrogant self-centered egotistical definition of "craft" as, effectively "software work isn’t like other work, and we shouldn’t be judged the same way. We are entirely unique." That's just obviously a bunch of lame excuses.
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Absolutely agree with your most compelling tale.
And the arrogant self-centered egotistical definition of "craft" as, effectively "software work isn’t like other work, and we shouldn’t be judged the same way. We are entirely unique." That's just obviously a bunch of lame excuses.
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But I have long considered myself to be a "software craftsman." (craftsperson)
I define "software as a craft" as
"We produce something that is both useful and beautiful."
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But I have long considered myself to be a "software craftsman." (craftsperson)
I define "software as a craft" as
"We produce something that is both useful and beautiful."
…
"Computer Science" not really a "science," because we're not discovering the fundamental computing and software development truths of the universe. We dreamed up and designed all this software and hardware. it works the way we *designed* it. It's not a discovery process.
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"Computer Science" not really a "science," because we're not discovering the fundamental computing and software development truths of the universe. We dreamed up and designed all this software and hardware. it works the way we *designed* it. It's not a discovery process.
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Our "Computer Science" is built on the mathematics of Turing Machines.
But we have built and used many computing devices that do not comply with that model. Many early computers did not. Analog computers do not.
And the "bleeding edge" of quantum computing, which may prove highly useful also violates the model assumptions of our formal mathematical "Computer Science."
…
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Our "Computer Science" is built on the mathematics of Turing Machines.
But we have built and used many computing devices that do not comply with that model. Many early computers did not. Analog computers do not.
And the "bleeding edge" of quantum computing, which may prove highly useful also violates the model assumptions of our formal mathematical "Computer Science."
…
Also, to continue with my answer to the old question,
"Is computing/software development an Art or a Science?"
It's not an Art either.
Automation and software exist *primarily* to do something useful.
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So, "not Art and not Science" leads me to say that our work is a "Craft," because it must be both useful and "beautiful."
Where "beautiful" is largely a way of expressing how useful, maintainable, reliable, and other such positive attributes.
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In this piece I wrote several years ago I had a ton of stories that could've illustrated feeling excluded from creativity in tech, but I used this story about not being given access to a makerspace specifically because it was so evocative to me! So on the nose
On Craft
My grandpa -- my Missouri grandpa, who played slide guitar to me when I got homesick on the rare occasions I stayed with them -- grew up on a farm without electricity. He went past eighth grade, which really mattered to him. He loved that I played harp, which he always called "elegant," in an extremely Missouri accent, an accent that hugged every syllable. Since living in California, I never hear this way of speaking. Recently I heard his accent on TV and cried unexpectedly, ugly crying, startli
drcathicks (www.drcathicks.com)
@grimalkina thank you for sharing this really interesting piece of writing.
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But I have long considered myself to be a "software craftsman." (craftsperson)
I define "software as a craft" as
"We produce something that is both useful and beautiful."
…
@JeffGrigg I like that!
