Hackers, Spelling, and Grammar

Submitted by platypus matt on July 1, 2005 - 00:24.

I saw this post on Slashdot today and knew I had to share it with my colleagues here at Kairos. If hackers are so excellent at learning complicated rules of programming languages, and detecting and fixing tiny bugs that amount to punctuation errors, then why are so many lousy writers? The post has generated over a thousand responses so far, many of which make for very interesting reading. It's fascinating stuff for folks like us!

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From Programmer to Rhetorician

Submitted by poetcsw on July 3, 2005 - 02:59.

I think people assume a conflict that does not exist between the technical and communicative skills. I know a great many poets and novelists with technical backgrounds. Also, as a programmer and software developer with degrees in English and journalism, I find that many in the sciences surpass my skills with language.

My companion possesses degrees in mechanical and aeronautical engineering. She works as a technical writer and editor, with an eye for detail I will never match. Her assistance in editing my creative works is invaluable.

My development projects, which involve massive mission-critical databases, conclude with the final delivery of documentation. Unfortunately, because documenting occurs during coding we cut corners and rush the process to meet deadlines. While we always imagine fixing the documents, we tend to be adding new features or extending existing functions. The result is a good-enough manual when I would like to see perfection.

(I hate to admit it, but when I survey users we find few if any ever read the manuals. We tend to focus on the online help, which relies more on bullet lists and screenshots. In the Mac world, it is assumed that a program needing a manual is a badly designed program.)

The threads on slashdot are an impressive display of how well-rounded many of us techies are. I wish we encouraged more cross-discplinary interaction; I know I’m not unusual among coders.