Red Squirrel Reflections Dave Hoover explores the psychology of software development

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Art and Craftsmanship
Sunday, September 8, 2002

Another impactful quote from The Social Construction of Reality:

"An individual who wants to become an accomplished musician must immerse himself in his subject to a degree quite unnecessary for an individual learning to be an engineer. Engineering education can take place effectively through formal, highly rational, emotionally neutral processes. Musical education, on the other hand, typically involves much higher identification with a maestro and a much more profound immersion in musical reality. This difference comes from the intrinsic differences between engineering and musical knowledge, and between the ways of life in which these two bodies of knowledge are practically applied."

This reminds me of Pete McBreen's Software Craftsmanship. In my brief exposure to software development, I relate more strongly to the musical training above than the engineering. Perhaps this is because I am more of an artistic person, or perhaps it is because software development is more of an art.

The quote also validates two impulses I have had since the day I started programming: to immerse myself in software development literature and a constant striving to work under a "maestro".

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