Why do techies insist that things should be sped up, torqued, optimized? | |
There’s one obvious reason, of course: They do it because of the dictates of the market. Capitalism handsomely rewards anyone who can improve a process and squeeze some margin out. But with software, there’s something else going on too. For coders, efficiency is more than just a tool for business. It’s an existential state, an emotional driver. | |
Coders might have different backgrounds and political opinions, but nearly every one I’ve ever met found deep, almost soulful pleasure in taking something inefficient — even just a little bit slow — and tightening it up a notch. Removing the friction from a system is an aesthetic joy; coders’ eyes blaze when they talk about making something run faster or how they eliminated some bothersome human effort from a process. | |
— Clive Thompson | |
From his article: “Efficiency Is Beautiful“ | |
In Wired Magazine, dtd: April 2019 | |
Also online at: https://www.wired.com/story/coders-efficiency-is-beautiful/ | |
. | |
On This Day In: | |
2018 | Cursive In The News |
2017 | Coffee Crunch |
2016 | Preparation |
2015 | Scarcely Asked |
2014 | They Resemble Us |
2013 | Both |
2012 | That’s Success! |
2011 | Losing At Dominoes |
2010 | 1,001 |
Posts Tagged ‘Capitalism’
Almost Soulful Pleasure
Posted in Economics, Philosophy, Quotes, Science and Learning, tagged Capitalism, Clive Thompson, Coding, Efficiency Is Beautiful, Optimization, Philosophy, Quotes, Wired Magazine, Wired.com on December 27, 2019| Leave a Comment »
Conservative Depressions
Posted in 2017 Book Review, Book Review, History, Politics, Reading, Reviews, tagged 2017 Book Review, Bubbles, Capitalism, Dr. Paul Krugman, Economics, Highly Recommended Book, History, John Kenneth Galbraith, John Maynard Keynes, Politics, The Return of Depression Economics (and the Crisis of 2008) -- book review on December 8, 2017| Leave a Comment »
“The Return of Depression Economics (and the Crisis of 2008)” (2009©) — book review | |
This book is authored by Dr. Paul Krugman, who won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2008. That’s kind of an easy way to validate that he knows what he’s talking about in terms of economics. I actually completed this book earlier in the month, but have just been too lazy to get around to this review… | |
Basically, the good doctor is a progressive / liberal economist from the Keynes / Galbraith school of government “interference” in the free market to both stimulate the economy and restrict bad business practices (i.e. monopolies). This means, when the inevitable market slow-down occurs, the author feels it is the government’s job to step in and provide demand for goods and services which will keep the economy ticking along. The failure to do so, the author states, results in a stalled or failing economy, which starts a self-fulfilling prophecy / death spiral of recession or depression. To prevent the excesses of capitalism, he proposes, a stricter regulation of banks and non-bank money (credit) generators. In theory, this decreases the size of economic bubbles and the resulting “crashes” which follow the inevitable bubble burst. | |
The bottom line appears to be that markets are subject to “bubbles”. Bubbles are periods of overconfidence which directly result in price increases to the point of frenzy. However, when the frenzy pauses to catch its breath, everything tends to go to hell in a hand-basket unless the government is willing (and sometimes it isn’t) to step in and save everyone’s bacon. The buying frenzy then becomes a selling panic and the free flow of funds / capital means individual national economies can end up in very deep do-do, very quickly. | |
Final recommendation: highly recommended. I recognize I am also a progressive / liberal who is predisposed to agree with the author’s opinions and arguments, but I found the basic arguments to be in agreement with my own experiences over the last 50 years. The book is written in standard English for the “off-the-street” (non-economist) person to understand. It is relatively short at under 200 pages and I found it to be a fairly fast read. Well worth your time to understand some of why the world is functioning the way it does. | |
. | |
On This Day In: | |
2016 | Election + 1 Month |
2015 | Dance And Sing |
2014 | A Measuring Stick For Progress |
2013 | Courtly Love Or Victory Over Habit |
2012 | Have We Met? |
2011 | Efficiently Useless |
Losing At Dominoes
Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Quotes, tagged Capitalism, Communism, Economics, Mark J. Penn, Microtrends, Philosophy, Politics, Quotes on December 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »
The domino theory was wrong because communism in its pure form has been unable to generate a sustaining economic model better than capitalism. Democracy has actually had more trouble getting established than capitalism because enlightened communist states (which do not include North Korea) have been realizing they can hold on to political power if they loosen up on the economic reins. By introducing modest economic freedom, they have been able to enjoy continued political domination — we see that on a huge scale in China and Russia, and now we see it here in Vietnam. These regimes have learned that acknowledging and accommodating economic spirit is the only way to hold on to political power, and that as long as people have economic rights, they may not be so concerned about human rights. America was founded on the opposite principle — that human and political rights must come first — but these states are turning that theory on its head with some surprising success. | |
— Mark J. Penn | |
From his book: “Microtrends“ | |
. | |