On Mon, Aug 03, 2015 at 02:34:52PM +0100, Edward Bartolo wrote: > I was of the impression, that to modify the kernel, a PhD was a must. > I cannot be blamed for this impression, as I am an EU citizen, which > has been agressively pushing for more qualifications of its work > force. The extent of this drive, is that anybody who holds no > qualificatios, is paid a misery compared with those who hold any > qualification, whatever that happens to be. Where I live, the policy > is, if you have no qualifications, you do not deserve to do anything > apart from humble unskilled manual work. >
Well, things in the world of (free software) programming are usually quite different. What counts at the end of the day is what you are able to do, not what is your name or how many titles you put in front of it. The code is neutral, aseptic. It does not know anything about you, your height, your smell, your cultural background, the colour of your skin, your religion (if any), your gender, or the university you have been a fellow of. Yet it tells a lot about who you are and what you think. But it remains neutral and aseptic. Its value is in what it does and in the way it does it, not in the name of its creator. A PhD might help you finding a better job, or progressing throughout your career, or buying a larger house, or feeling entitled to believe that you are better, smarter, or cooler than others, but will not automatically increase your coding power or earn you the respect of other coders. I have to admit it is quite often the opposite, indeed. The free software community is probably one of the last truly democratic and meritocratic social environments. HND KatolaZ -- [ Enzo Nicosia aka KatolaZ --- GLUG Catania -- Freaknet Medialab ] [ me [at] katolaz.homeunix.net -- http://katolaz.homeunix.net -- ] [ GNU/Linux User:#325780/ICQ UIN: #258332181/GPG key ID 0B5F062F ] [ Fingerprint: 8E59 D6AA 445E FDB4 A153 3D5A 5F20 B3AE 0B5F 062F ] _______________________________________________ Dng mailing list [email protected] https://mailinglists.dyne.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/dng
