On 17/09/2015 08:10, Joakim wrote:
Yeah, I was a bit stunned that that is what Bruno took from your post. I don't think anybody would question that writing a C or C++ compiler in the '80s and '90s had value, and I'm sure you did pretty well off them, considering you retired at 42 (http://www.drdobbs.com/architecture-and-design/how-i-came-to-write-d/240165322).
I didn't say that Walter's previous work didn't bring *any* value to the software world. It's not like people challenged him to write efficient lolcode or brainfuck(*) compilers, or some other silly challenge, which if he did would have a been a massive waste of time - even if it was technically a very admirable feat.
(*) - Yeah those languages weren't around at the time, but that's just an example.
My point was that one would certainly bring *more* value to the software world, if that is the primary focus of one's career, instead of merely proving people wrong.
That doesn't mean either one has to be an emotionless robot that never does something just for the sake of ego-boosting (which is really the only reward of proving people wrong - unless there are some monetary or other resources at stake). But Walter has so many stories of "I did this [massive project] to prove people wrong." which is what makes me wonder if there isn't too much focus on ego validation.
-- Bruno Medeiros https://twitter.com/brunodomedeiros
