Re: Learning styles

Re: Learning styles

[W. Wesley Groleau (Wes)]

> In case you've forgotten, that's what engineers DO, including software
> engineers! They design and build! You sound like a manager to me, NOT a
> software engineer, regardless of paper credentials!

Yes, I design and build things.  I do not necessarily design and build
all their parts.  Some of those parts I could design and build if I wanted
to.  All of them I am able to determine whether they meet their
specifications (if I can't, I know I need to improve the specification.)

I do highly recommend learning about assembler, digital electronics,
and even analog electronics to any software people that can afford the
time.  But it is not indispensable for learning algorithms and for
many people, only gets in the way at that stage.

If my algorithm needs to "swap" two things, I write "swap", "exchange",
or whatever in my high level language.  (If I have to write it more than
twice in assembler, I'll write it once and call it the rest of the times).

Sure, my machine language and electronics experience make me more
effective.  But even though I started at the "low level" and gradually
moved up to the high level, I am persuaded that the opposite direction
would have gotten me to my present effectiveness a few years sooner.

 IF  I did not know assembler, I could still tell the compiler vendor
that his compiler is broken when swap doesn't work.  IF  I did not
know assembler, I could still prove it when the vendor tried to blame
my code.  The benefit of knowing assembler in that situation is the
pleasure of saying, "You idiot, here's the machine code it generated."
Might feel good to say that, but it doesn't really get anything fixed.

If you refuse to hire people that understand the low-level stuff,
you'll have low-level problems you can't solve.

If you refuse to hire people that understand the high-level stuff,
you'll have high-level problems you can't solve.

If you refuse to higher people unless they know both, you'll have
a very small workforce.

There are certain personality types that do much better at the concrete
than at the abstract, and vice versa.  We need people to do low-level stuff,
and we need people to do high-level stuff.  The more each understands about
the other's job, the better.  The less each flames the other for having
the "wrong approach" the more they'll accomplish together.

(Yes, I realize my post came a little too close to a flame than it should
have.  Sorry.)

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W. Wesley Groleau (Wes)                                Office: 219-429-4923
Hughes Defense Communications (MS 10-40)                 Home: 219-471-7206
Fort Wayne,  IN   46808                  (Unix): wwgrol@pseserv3.fw.hac.com
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Re: Learning styles

[Robert Dewar]

Wes said

"If you refuse to higher people unless they know both, you'll have
a very small workforce."

Sounds like an excellent strategy to me ...