Comment by simias
8 years ago
This article points out exactly why even though I like to tinker with a lot of stuff my main hobby is always programming. Because programming is more akin to writing down maths than building a staircase. Algorithms don't warp because of humidity, algorithms don't have leakage current. Sure computers have their quirks (overflows, floating point issues, UB etc...) but it's still a finite amount of knowledge unlike the infinite amount of details of reality.
An other pleasant part of software development is that all you need is a computer and a compiler/interpreter to get started. No need to buy dedicated tools or supplies. And if you realize halfway into a project that you did something wrong (that your "staircase" is not cut right) then you can easily undo and redo anything without any mess or waste. No cleanup needed either. The only limits are your skills and imagination.
It depends. I've been stuck with a very large, very old, particularly awful legacy codebase before, and doing anything with it starts to resemble building the staircase.
Find the cause of a bug. Oh, but the fix isn't clear, because it turns out the "bug" isn't a programming error as it was - two people who had two slightly different but incompatible interpretation over the meaning and purpose of some subsystem (whose creator didn't document anything because hey, gotta meet deadlines). So now we have to decide what is the most correct way to resolve this while breaking the least amount of stuff... hmm, we could refactor this, separate that, give this a clearer purpose... oh, but surprise, it's tightly coupled to this, which is tightly coupled to that, which is tightly coupled to... FML.
In fun, a contrary perspective: at least with woodworking tools, they don't become obsolete in 2-5 years just from laying dormant on the shelf!
Seriously, though, couldn't agree more, I've said some variation on everything you mentioned for many years. Especially the mess part. I would add the risk of personal injury, too.
Improperly cared for, however, and they will rust or worse.
Over longer time spans, the tools sometimes become outdated in terms of one's productivity while using, assuming non-artistic motivation for use.
Old motorized tools are more prone to this than mechanical-type tools. Which maybe gives some insight as to the factors that contribute to obsolescence. There are exceptions, of course, but generally my grandfather's hand tools are still perfectly serviceable while his motorized tools often have more drawbacks than benefits to use. A 50-year circular saw is as heavy as a boat anchor and is a huge pain in the ass to adjust and use compared to newer options.
this is a great point. but i think all those negatives are actually positives for lots of people, creating fun challenged