I’ve been writing software professionally since the 90s. Tons of software is pointless crap to make jobs.
I’m gonna go with Carmack on this one; you think you have a better understanding of it than him? It’s just ifs and for loops.
Sure some contexts require real nuance. But just because Grubhub IS massive doesn’t mean it needs to be engineered that way, that’s a byproduct of socio-political forces (money).
There’s nothing in any science or engineering book I’ve read that says “all software must be engineered as a large distributed application”. Again, a byproduct of contemporary business goals.
My generative art object app is not sending people to the moon and merely relied on me wrapping some well understood math in machine language syntax; it’s librarian work.
Your preference for adverbs and emphasis where you see fit to place it does not move me.
Accomplish something net new for humans, cause I’ve been sending data grams over the internet since the 80s. Grubhub isn’t all that interesting
What percentage of software projects are complete disasters? In spite of being staffed almost entirely by people with CS degrees? 50%? 60%? I guess that is because it is so easy? Whether from a societal POV they need to be that complicated, the answer is of course "no", it is all about business goals and is mostly crap we don't need. But what has that got to do with the price of tea in China? The discussion is about whether software is "real" engineering, not if engineers are engaged in meaningful work.
On that front, the idea that software systems with 100s of features, millions of daily users, extreme uptime requirements, hackers all over the world trying to break in daily , and billions of $$ on the line is "ifs and for loops" or "librarian work" is... oh come on. Never mind, this conversation is silly.
You say you are an experienced developer, but honestly it sounds like you've never built anything except generative art object apps.
How is maintaining an app on top of a Kubernetes cluster easier than setting up a Minecraft server on an old PC back in the day? Who pays for that and maintains it?
Wealth is agency
Those who have it have diverse opportunities for agency at their disposal
Those that don’t have paycheck to paycheck and inflation concerns
When are the science minded going to look beyond cultural ephemera and realize the emotional depths at which relativity impacts life
Ignorant people can’t know to fight for healthcare if they’re never allowed to experience good healthcare
It’s such a joke this culture would call itself science minded while clearly building a traditional wealth caste