datsci_est_2015 43 minutes ago

Feel like this is the equivalent of a traffic engineer standing at the grand opening of the 5th lane for the highway saying there’s no reason for traffic to be slow anymore.

That is, there’s a misunderstanding of why software (traffic) was slow in the first place, and it has nothing to do with our ability to generate code (number of lanes), even if that code is “high quality”.

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efsavage 23 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

Sorry I can't resist the pedantry but a traffic engineer knows better than anyone that adding a 5th lane (often even a 4th) won't improve traffic except in fairly specific circumstances. :D

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trgn 10 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

That cannot be an emperical statement. Traffic engineers have absolutely wrecked the american city, largely be ause they didnt know the impact of adding lanes.

It's not the only reason. I think that traffic engineers lack/lacked a feel, a certain gut understanding , an inability to feel through the skin. Just look around you. See and hear them at municipal meetings. They are unable to sensually experience the effects of their work, their praxis.

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paulddraper 17 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

But it will definitely improve, either speed or volume.

	▲	coaksford 8 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		This isn't categorically true either, the real world is delightfully complicated, far more so than you imagine. The way cars interact within a road, as they enter an exit the road, or how they choose their route can all create conditions where adding a lane only makes traffic worse and can reduce both speed and volume during peak traffic hours.
	▲	dwattttt 10 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Locally. Under many circumstances. But always? That's not a universal law, as it's a part of a larger system that may perform more poorly if this leg provides more traffic.

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xbar 15 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The author clearly understood this part of the topic and agrees. There are multiple reasons that software is slow.

As you imply, some of them are not because spending time on optimization seems relatively expensive compared to value. But some of them are.

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panzi 17 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

What's the public transport of software development? Where can I get good train service here?

	▲	AdieuToLogic 13 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		> What's the public transport of software development? Understanding.

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Grimburger 26 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Still a struggle to get coworkers to write docs or tests despite it being effortless.

At the end of the day its a mindset.

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m463 17 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

just¹ prompt like the lotus philosophy:

Simplify, then add lightness.

[1] hn favorite word

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w-ll 37 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

you dont mesaure the quality of a plane by how much it weighs. but yea i think everything is rot to the core. app to os if just wackness that nobody cared about.