Tiago Forte@fortelabs·Sep 29, 2017I'd love your take on this @vgr. Developer Hegemony uses Gervais Principle as explanatory backbone cc @daedtechQuote TweetTiago Forte@fortelabs·Sep 29, 20171/ My summary/analysis of Developer Hegemony, @daedtech's stunning book on the future of labor https://daedtech.com/book/Show this thread3210
Venkatesh Rao@vgr·Sep 29, 2017Replying to @fortelabs and @daedtechYeah, Erik sent me a preview copy, so familiar with the argument :) There's definitely an economic pressure/incentives towards mercenary end1
Venkatesh Rao@vgr·Sep 29, 2017Replying to @vgr @fortelabs and @daedtechI have a feeling though that there's a poorly understood force acting in the other direction: the desire to work on ambitious things1210
Venkatesh Rao@vgr·Sep 29, 2017Replying to @vgr @fortelabs and @daedtechThe very best developers tend not to go mercenary. They tend to stay missionary and work at big corps that can do things small ones can't.312
Venkatesh Rao@vgr·Sep 29, 2017Replying to @vgr @fortelabs and @daedtechAnd others sometimes choose to stay because they want to work with the A+ missionaries. Efficiencer work is not as satisfying a big mission2113
Kyle Mathews@kylemathews·Sep 29, 2017Replying to @vgr @fortelabs and @daedtech100% agree. Also most efficiencer type work is pretty boring/easy if you're a great developer.11
Tiago Forte@fortelabs·Sep 29, 2017Replying to @kylemathews @vgr and @daedtechIs there seriously no ambitious original work done by freelance software devs? Most ambitious writing is done by free agents1
Kyle Mathews@kylemathews·Sep 29, 2017Replying to @fortelabs @vgr and @daedtechno sure, it definitely happens. Just ambitious software work generally requires considerable funding so generally happens at large companies23
Venkatesh Rao@vgr·Sep 29, 2017Replying to @kylemathews @fortelabs and @daedtechAmbitious software (barring exceptions like bitcoin) need vast datasets, cloud-scale compute ($$$), PhD colleagues versed in esoterica etc.519
Venkatesh Rao@vgrReplying to @vgr @kylemathews and 2 othersThe analogy to writing is false. Software is fundamentally a systems-and-teams sport. A better analogy is to legal institutions8:17 PM · Sep 29, 201710 Likes
Venkatesh Rao@vgr·Sep 29, 2017Replying to @vgr @kylemathews and 2 othersGoogle's search infrastructure is more like the knowledge base represented in US judicial system case law than like a novel.119
Venkatesh Rao@vgr·Sep 29, 2017Replying to @vgr @kylemathews and 2 othersPeople get a mistaken idea of what economically important software is because we think web apps and simple business process systems1
Venkatesh Rao@vgr·Sep 29, 2017Replying to @vgr @kylemathews and 2 othersThink s/w that runs a Boeing airliner, or stack that runs an autonomous car fleet, or the power grid. 90% of important code is of that sort3