> The problem I notice in npm land is many developers have no taste.
Programming is not the same as hanging out some hoity-toity art gallery. If someone critiqued my software dev by saying I had "no taste", I'd cringe so hard I'd turn into a black hole.
I know this is hackernews, but this reeks of self-importance.
Engineering is a form of art where the engineer makes many decisions, large and small, where optimality cannot be proven. Taste most certainly plays a role, and there are engineering products that clearly show good or poor taste.
Unfortunately this particular art form requires fluency in mathematics and the sciences/computers, so it’s very inaccessible.
In all seriousness: why do you insist on an intellectual totem pole with art being more “hoity toity” as you say, and more worthy? And if so, why is engineering below painting?
In mathematics and some hard sciences, and in absolutely elementary aspects of other fields like programming, things can be proven to be right or wrong. In every other endeavour, we need to repeatedly apply fuzzy judgements.
Some do this poorly, some do it well.
Just in case you actually are interested in nuance, here’s some more on the topic:
Imagine if a carpenter or house builder was shitting out slop that had no taste. And then laughed at people who pointed it out. Would you hire them to build something for you?
Actually, the problem with SE culture is people think they're way smarter than they really are simply because they grew up being called a genius by knowing how to turn a computer on and off.
> Imagine if a carpenter or house builder was shitting out slop that had no taste
What are you even talking about? How does this even remotely relate to software development? Are you telling me a function that adds 2 numbers has "taste"?
Programming is not the same as hanging out some hoity-toity art gallery. If someone critiqued my software dev by saying I had "no taste", I'd cringe so hard I'd turn into a black hole.
I know this is hackernews, but this reeks of self-importance.