Software systems rule our world. My regular newsletter explores the human factors that make software engineering so unique, so difficult, so important and all consuming.
The Human Software 284 - Pluribus
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Aside from being a writer, I'm also an avid film and TV watcher. This week we were blessed by the arrival of Pluribus on AppleTV. It's a speculative science fiction series written by Vince Gilligan, co-creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. He's someone who knows what they are doing when it comes to writing, producing and directing these incredibly successful series. More than that though, he picks the best people and directs them with ease. Here's a bit on when Vince Gilligan knew that Rhea Seehorn would be his next lead: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQxG6OyDfwJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Also, if you're a super fan of Better Call Saul (as I am) then you could do a lot worse then watch some of the table reads. Here is a perfect example of the art of Rhea Seehorn and Bob Odenkirk in action. Pluribus itself? It's great - go watch the first two episodes immediately. It also deserves its own blog post which is already in the works. Talking of promoting new shows, this week I'm embarking on a podcast tour and next week I'll be talking about Human Software in front of some real humans! Eek! You can help me out in the meantime, I hear that if you get 20 followers on Amazon than this unlocks extra insights. Would you do me a favour and visit my author profile on Amazon and follow me! That will help with the algorithm. Thank you! https://www.amazon.com/stores/Richard-Bown/author/B0FRK6KMYW Have a great Sunday! |
The Human Software
Software systems rule our world. My regular newsletter explores the human factors that make software engineering so unique, so difficult, so important and all consuming.
Greg Wilson of Software Carpentry fame knows how to write a headline. His recent talk Cocaine and Conway's Law is a mine of brilliant ideas and books to add to your reading list. They talk invested me immediately through his excoriation of Mark Andreessen's "Techno Optimist Manifesto" as a part of the Peter Thiel/Elon Musk narrative - work harder and longer, fix all problems via tech. Conway's Law, for those who are unfamiliar is the implicit link between social organisation of a company and...
The Horizon Post Office Scandal is one of the biggest IT failures in recent times, directly responsible for thirteen of the wrongly accused taking their own lives after prosecutions were brought against them. There is a highly technical deep dive into the findings made by Computer Weekly in this incredible Corecursive podcast episode. It is worth a detailed listen if you want to understand how this could come about and what systemic failings caused it to be covered up for so long. Software...
Working in software you get to see some pretty stupid stuff. And I mean crazy, stupid stuff. Decisions that float down from on high from multiple disparate spheres of influence - sales teams, other business units or just vice-presidents with a Great New Idea[tm] or a pet project. The narrative goes a little like this - the important people get to make choices and us techies have to live with consequences them. Sometimes these decisions are on a whim, an industry hype, a desperate attempt to...