That’s because within our field, any false beliefs and sloppy thinking eventually surface in the form of bugs...
Flattering theory, but it doesn’t explain the abundance of programmers on Reddit where no one tries to overcome bias. I have a simpler theory: we programmers have a habit of surfing the internet looking for intellectual junk food.
You have to make a distinction between programmers in general and great programmers (or aspiring great programmers). The average programmer cares about bias no more (or little more) than the average person. But if you love programming and desire to become a jedi programmer, you absolutely have to get in the habit of being reflective about the underlying biases that were responsible for bugs, poor design decisions, etc., and figure out how the jedi are able to do what they do.
Read some interviews with (or writings of) great programmers—people like Jon Bentley, Bill Joy, etc.: you’ll see that they have great insight into cognitive biases that have to be overcome to become a great programmer, and they have found ways to overcome those biases.
That’s because within our field, any false beliefs and sloppy thinking eventually surface in the form of bugs...
Flattering theory, but it doesn’t explain the abundance of programmers on Reddit where no one tries to overcome bias. I have a simpler theory: we programmers have a habit of surfing the internet looking for intellectual junk food.
You have to make a distinction between programmers in general and great programmers (or aspiring great programmers). The average programmer cares about bias no more (or little more) than the average person. But if you love programming and desire to become a jedi programmer, you absolutely have to get in the habit of being reflective about the underlying biases that were responsible for bugs, poor design decisions, etc., and figure out how the jedi are able to do what they do.
Read some interviews with (or writings of) great programmers—people like Jon Bentley, Bill Joy, etc.: you’ll see that they have great insight into cognitive biases that have to be overcome to become a great programmer, and they have found ways to overcome those biases.