I would pick Zed's code over the code of a "professionnal" any day. I prefer direct, raw and to the point language over watered down politically correct speech any day. The former cares about substance while the later cares about appearances.
After years in the industry, I've become weary of the word "professionnal". It doesn't mean youre talented, it doesn't mean you have a good understanding of how computers really work. It only means you're good at being politically correct.
And that has very little value when it comes to developing software. You can't describe something rational using emotional language.
After years in the industry, I've become weary of the word "professionnal". It doesn't mean youre talented, it doesn't mean you have a good understanding of how computers really work. It only means you're good at being politically correct.
I agree with you entirely. I've heard the word "professional" at least an order of magnitude more when the topic of conversation is my mohawk rather than my work output or ability to operate in a team.
I see two options. Either I'm so middling at my job nobody would ever call me unprofessional, professional or suggest that I act more professional. Or, as I suspect, the word "professional" is a nothing but a tool to conflate the social signaling of conformance with the ability to perform a job.
"Politically correct" seems to mean "being respectful, courteous, and considerate of everyone involved". I fail to see how that's a negative thing to be avoided, or how it's "watered down".
That's negative if you use it as a filter. I'm not saying being polite is wrong, far from it. What I'm saying is that professionalism is a mediocre metric in our industry. Just like lines of code is a mediocre metric for the progression of a project.
Both metrics look good on the surface. Yet using them shows a very poor understanding of what engineering is.
After years in the industry, I've become weary of the word "professionnal". It doesn't mean youre talented, it doesn't mean you have a good understanding of how computers really work. It only means you're good at being politically correct.
And that has very little value when it comes to developing software. You can't describe something rational using emotional language.