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It Is Programmer Day - Why So Apathetic?
mikejuk writes: Programmers Day comes around every year and yet each year it seems to be increasingly ignored. Why, when we are trying to encourage children to take up all things computing, is Programmers Day such a big flop? If you've not encountered it before, the idea is that on a specific day we celebrate computer programmers. It is designated to be on the 256th day of the year, which in most years is September 13th and this year, 2015, it falls on a Sunday. If you don't know why it's the 256th day, then you probably aren't a programmer and there is no point in explaining. The usual suggestions for things to do on programmer day include telling jokes and other fairly lame stuff. How about instead: Teach someone to program just a little bit.
When is Plumber Day? Car Mechanic Day? Kindergarten Teacher Day maybe?
What?
Um, because the set of "${X} days/months" is a meaningless, stupid concept, curated by people without any meaningful claim to authority or unusual credibility?
This article's premise is about as sensical as asking why everyone named "Frank" isn't celebrating the fact that I live in North America.
Is that 256 counting from 0 or from 1?
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
How about giving them a bump in the old salary?
Amazon doesn't let me take days off.
we're all at work. Otherwise, we'll be replaced by several H1B's.
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
Programmers day ain't official until Hallmark makes a card for it.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
It is mostly ignored because of the condescending attitude that too many programmers have. We're supposed to be encouraging young people to get into programming, and in the same breath belittle people who dont understand why it would be on the 256th day of the year?
I'm going to link an obligatory XKCD reference now: https://xkcd.com/1053/
It's a bit short...
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
The very concept of special days on the calendar is retarded in the first place, regardless of what it is. How about the idiotic 'labour day' last week? Almost nobody was working. I had a few people coming to work anyway, didn't force them, but they didn't mind after I asked. Special days are annoying, idiotic vestiges of oppression by government power (mob) that I will not respect and for that reason I have 0 interest in them whatever they are.
You can't handle the truth.
... then you probably aren't a programmer and there is no point in explaining." THAT explains a lot.
Does he spam Slashdot as well?
Not going to lie, that is a scary and all too real interpretation.
But there really are many programming projects & problems...so maybe it's not entirely true. Maybe there's a huge labor shortage in programming & bringing people on board will push production forward without costing jobs. ... Maybe.
PS: I don't reply to ACs.
so some guys on a forum somewhere made this nonsense up? and then they wonder why no one is jumping aboard their little game?
maybe there is a butcher's day? a mechanic's day? no? or no one gives a shit?
See the logo. 1111 1111.
This is NOT 256d. The whole point of 256d is, that it is 100000000b and thus a round number.
They seem to be no programmers either.
There are only 10 kinds of people when it comes to programming. Those who understand base-2 and those who don't.
Like pretty much all of the other professions really. Just, no. No-one cares about your "arbitrary profession day!". In fact, no-one cares about your profession. It's actually bad that we celebrate the work we do because frankly none of it really matters. As the programming projects get ever bigger and more complicated we're all going to play decreasingly tiny roles in making any of it work, and our work means less and less to us each day. Most people are trying to reach escape velocity into management roles so they at least have a pension when they're too old to continue working. The rest of us can look forward to H1-B replacements once our minds aren't sharp enough to handle the 50 kerbillion new frameworks and technologies we're expected to process per hour. And by "process" I mean "bugfix" because the original authors got tired of handling the issues and kicked them downstream to the customers to handle.
No other industry is driven by 18 year olds with ADD and collectively maintained by 50 year olds. Try to imagine what would happen if a bunch of 18 years olds got really psyched about building a skyscraper, then built half of it and got bored, or realized it was hard and moved on to a smaller building. Then CorpDuJour gives you a couple of 2-by-4s and a bag of nails and tells you to keep it from falling over. We're the boiler house. We're the shit shovelers of the modern age.
Every day is programmer's day.
Programming is interesting, but it doesn't have any real revenue generation possibilities. Yes, one can have fun with bottle cap collecting or running a metal detector along the shoreline, but that isn't going to make a career.
The problem with computer programming is that it takes skill, but it doesn't have any type of regulating body for it other than the ACM. Because of this, I can take someone who has been programming for 20+ years, who can write assembly language code just as well as Rust, compare them to someone fresh off the H-1B boat, and the nod will go to the H-1B just because they are cheaper. This will happen every single time.
These days, STEM majors are pretty much the same. This is why I recommend the kids leave STEM as a hobby and go law or account. There is no such thing as a H-1B lawyer, nor an unemployed lawyer.
Merry cache miss.
"If you don't know why its the 256th day then you probably aren't a programmer and there is no point in explaining."
For Shit's sake. We talk about trying to attract women and children to the field and we can't even get over this ages old, ridiculously flawed, circular logic.
This attitude permiates everything in brogrammer culture. You just can't assume everyone who is getting into programming these days is an advanced highschool math student, or a CS student, that woukd have knowledge of base 16. The very opposite is true. We're like a bunch of religious fanatics that can't give up the past for the future.
Your attitude is why no one gives a damn about your shitty holiday.
On Sunday - because we're programmers.
Greed is the root of all evil.
1111 1111 represents 255. Celebrate Programmer Day on September 13th, the 256th day of the year.
Suggested topic of conversation: Off by one errors.
It's because no-one can decide whether it's "Programmer Day", "Programmer's Day", or "Programmers Day".
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
and say that with a goodly number of programming jobs being outsourced, there is little to celebrate or feel appreciated about being a programmer.
And no, it is not still "Talk like a Pirate" day yet.
Your appreciation for your job is shown by the dollar amount on your paycheck. If that's not enough, start looking for a new job.
Programmer's day is just more hype from Hallmark and American Greetings and another attempt to sell a lot of greeting cards.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
hah, got arsed enough to look it up on wikipedia, not even the pathetic "pedigree" I had imagined. Six years ago couple of russki code monkeys got enough signatures and the "MinComSvyaz" (the george orwell-esque slang they use for Ministry of Telecom and Communications) approved it. nuff sed
Besides, everyone knows that System Administrator appreciation day is July 29th.
And programmers and those other computer people are just considered one and the same.
Also, if it makes you feel any better... then just call it Developer / Operators Day, or DevOps day.
I'm going to give the private key ring to my Nigerian girlfriend.
Seastead this.
We should have a day for the people who make my life miserable by filling it with endless updates to fix their poorly written software?
I ignore all "so and so's" days. And weeks. And months.
Everyone wants to stand out and be treated special for doing what they normally do. It doesn't work that way. Being "normal" isn't "standout" in any way, size, shape, or form.
You are who you are and you don't deserve special treatment that others don't get.
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
Look for a company that cares about quality and you'll find quality workers. There are as many crappy companies as there are crappy programmers. It can take a bit of effort for a good programmer to find a good company.
Massive layoffs followed by massive hires of newer and cheaper people belie that.
I was expecting his answer to be "Bah, humbug!"
__
Men with no respect for life must never be allowed to control the ultimate instruments of death.
GW Bu
"The only real reason I got into this was you were so good at it. You were my inspiration..."
I got into programming because when I first saw a computer when I was 6, I thought, "I could make those do anything I can think of". I didn't need "inspiration", a role model, or any of that crap. All I saw was a screen saver running and realized it was programmatically generating images. I tried Basic, hated it. Jumped into C and ASM.
I've never understood how people don't know what they want to do. Do you enjoy this food? Do you like this picture? Come on! Do people know anything about themselves?
I give it precisely the same attention/respect that I do for national blueberry day and national "dress up your pet" day.
-Styopa
Why put a PS on something you can edit? Moron :-P
Actually, there are many unemployed lawyers these days. Too many people seem to have taken your advice, and the field is seriously oversupplied.
What's he going to say 5-10 years down the road when he's sick of the crappy work environment, being laid off multiple times because the corporation changed their mind about something, the lack of pay raises without job-hopping, etc? Is he going to resent you?
Morons like you give website forums a bad name - Obvious "ne'er-do-well" morons like you pal that haven't accomplished anything worth noting in the art & science of computing (you)! apk
Physician, heal thyself.
I'm not trying to encourage children to take up programming. The only child I ever mentioned computer programming to was when my dental hygienist told me her son was extremely good at math, and autistic with problems communicating with people.
In my six years of programming professionally, two and a half years in graduate school, and four years as an undergrad, I think I've encouraged maybe three people to become programmers. Most people do not have any kind of analytical inclination, and the amount of time it would require to train them to become programmers wouldn't be worth it. They would likely still be fairly poor programmers, even after massive training. Programming isn't for everyone despite whatever catchy government-minority-special-interest-group-trendy-catch-phase-with-coding you want to pick. Anyone that has actively worked inside computer code knows the damage that can be done when someone with the wrong level of understanding starts modifying code.
Computer programming isn't for everyone. If you are a programmer, promote computer programming however you want, since you know what you're talking about. If you're a politician, please, please, please do not promote (or regulate, or really involve yourself in any way) with programming or technology. For all the people in between, it might make sense to take an approach that is correlated with your actual knowledge of the thing you are promoting.
Everyone, except people in Michigan and Chicago
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
One reason for people's apathy could be that the actual "Programmer's Day" is Oct 31st, also known as Programmer's X-mas because, as you're all aware, 31 Oct == 25 Dec. This has been celebrated in Sweden for a long time, since the 18th century in fact, and considered so important that Oct 31st is Edit's name day[1].
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_name_day_list_of_2001
I started playing and working with computers in 1987. I self taught myself assembler on a Z80 back then. I have a computer science degree and work as a developer now. So why is it the 256th?
For real programmers, everyday is programmers day!
This supposed 'holiday" can be likened to Earth Day - which also should be everyday - but is only one day per year.
Political correctness is really just herd psychology pushed by insecure people who desperately seek social conformity.
It's not just arrogant, it's stupid and the person saying it is in violent disagreement with themself.
"Why, when we are trying to encourage children to take up all things computing, is Programmers Day such a big flop?"
"If you don't know why it's the 256th day, then you probably aren't a programmer and there is no point in explaining."
"How about instead: Teach someone to program just a little bit."
They probably meant it as a joke (right before saying there were better alternatives than "telling jokes and other fairly lame stuff") but if so then they're incredibly tone deaf and not aware of the implications of what they're saying. Starting your spiel by trying to make people feel dumb and/or excluded is no way to entice them into joining your group.
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
There is a low barrier to entry for learning programming. The barrier to entry for getting someone to PAY you for programming is much higher.
In many cases, especially the entry-level (read: you have 3 years of professional programming experience at some other company), "self-taught" will get your resume to the bottom of the trash barrel. Getting training for it at an institution of higher education is massively expensive, if you want the C students in HR to consider the training of value. Training at a community college is almost worse than self-taught, because if you had any brains at all, you'd have gone to a four-year college for that.
Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
What? You mean you weren't working Sunday?
I was directly quoting you from this thread. How is that "off topic" unless you were already off topic? I'm sure you'll have some ranting answer. The question is, do you yourself truly believe it? You are indistinguishable from a standard USENET kook. On USENET, it was easier to put someone into my killfile. Here, I'd have to ignore every AC.
You change your imaginary rules to suit yourself in any given situation and then demand that every poster abide by your imagined yet inconsistent rules. Rules that you yourself don't actually follow. Off-topic seems to be the arbitrary rule for this particular thread. But no matter what you post, you will always claim your posts are on-topic and every post you disagree with is off-topic, troll, etc. But the simple fact of that matter is that you are an extremely unpleasant person and your posts rant and ramble on like a lunatic. In fact, they're nearly impossible to read. And if they didn't take up so damned much screen space to say nearly nothing, I doubt anyone would really care.
I'm not expecting a rational, reasonable, nor logical response: I doubt you're capable. It's just after years of putting up with your crap here, I'm feeling the need to blow off a little steam. One thing I will say is that I will never use your product because you're such a nasty, vile commenter here. The only thing I have to judge your product by is your postings and they suck. They suck really badly. That reflects directly on your product. Doesn't matter how good it might or might not be - your behavior here has completely tainted it.
to a group that needs it more. Like people with small dicks and sickle cell anemia.
Ah, roughly the "orbital" period of the solar system about its barycenter... Should be quite an occasion.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
It must be awful to KNOW you're nothing but a useless trolling "ne'er-do-well" on your part... apk
So what we're seeing here is a case of ignorance being bliss on your part. You're happy not knowing that you're a useless troll. I hope, for your sake, you never come to realize what you are; I wouldn't wish that kind of unhappiness upon you even if you do waste the time of thousands of people on /. each and every day.
I've met some REAL imbeciles on this forums, but you take the cake & NOW
Coming from you, that's a compliment. I'd be horrified if you actually considered me to be intelligent and coherent given that you seem to use yourself as your standard.
As to the eating my words, honestly, I have no idea what the hell you're even talking about. I'm not even sure that you know what the hell you're talking about.
Seriously, you really need to up your insult game. The fact that you're responding to something I've written means, by definition, that I'm not illiterate which means you are, by definition, wrong. That aside, I'm waiting for you to pull out some really clever insults such as, "I know you are, but what am I?", or "I'm rubber, you're glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you."
Realistically, I suppose I should be thanking you since you're actually providing me with some amusement. So. Thank you. Please, don't hesitate to stop back for more.
I do have a question for you. Seriously, it's something I'm curious about. Since you have switched to posting as an AC, how do you know when someone has responded to you? I check my comments section occasionally (the email notification was too noisy for my taste). Do you keep track of every place you post and then go look through them repeatedly? Do you have a custom commenting interface that you use to track your comments by CID? Do you webscrape searching for occurences of APK or "P.S. =>" and show those? Some combination thereof? None of these?
Prove that I ever once said that your initial post was off topic. Never did. That's your invention. And you're the one that's obsessed with "Off Topic". A person that's not completely unhinged (you know, some that's mentally balanced) would mark off-topic things as such using their mod privileges (if they even bothered - mod points are better spent promoting good content upward) and move on. A mentally unstable person, on the other hand, would chase someone around a forum responding to every one of their posts with childish name calling about something that no one else knows about nor cares about. Guess which one of these two you are? Yes, I know - false dilemma, but given your failure at rational and logical thinking, it seems like a small logical error to make.
Programming as a job sucks.