Avoiding the Programming Bubble

I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail. — Abraham Maslow

Programming is an activity based on the use of tools. The OS, the editor, the programming language & the framework are all tools. For most of these tools there are alternatives. Popular tools have an eco system of programmers around them. Each tool and eco system has something new to offer. I’ve noticed programmers have a tendency to stick to a small number of tools. In this post I’m arguing that programmers should experience as many tools and ecosystems as possible.

Why is there a problem?

Many software developers are hired for their skill with a specific set of tools. You may be hired as a Ruby on Rails programmer or a React JS programmer. This causes developers to assign labels to themselves. Furthermore, companies tend to favour specialists over generalists.

These factors, as well as others, contribute to the feeling that developers should stick within their ecosystem. Programmers get stuck in their bubble.

The filter bubble tends to dramatically amplify confirmation bias — in a way, it’s designed to. Consuming information that conforms to our ideas of the world is easy and pleasurable; consuming information that challenges us to think in new ways or question our assumptions is frustrating and difficult. — Eli Pariser

Popping the bubble

learning new tools and mixing with people from other communities will broaden your perspectives. I think this leads to better software. For example, a backend developer who learns something about ReactJS will have a better understanding of a front end developers perspective. This new perspective will help them build better systems and provide better APIs for the front end.