Tech People Should Stop Doing This
I am a programmer and a few years ago I knew nothing about the tech world. I was one of those people saying:
“This looks so hard, I could never do it!”
Now I know there is nothing I cannot do, but still the journey was difficult, and there is one thing that a lot of tech people do to make it seem even worse.
The What
For everyone that started on this path, I am pretty sure you were once intimidated by the tech language. All these terms and concepts made it appear like the tech world is an big unknown that cannot be grasped.
It is partially true, we will never know everything, but it takes some time to realise where we stand and that we should not strive to learn it all. Beginners should particularly understand this. Because no one is more overwhelmed than the person in the room who knows the least.
I am constantly reminding myself I do not want to appear like that to people that are not part of my tech bubble. There are friends, relatives, younger people who may be interested on starting this journey. Since it is a really cool path to choose, why would I make it appear hard and unapproachable?
While being in the tech industry it is impossible you were never hit with the phrase “oh so you must be smart”. And yes, it tickles your ego for a moment, but you know that is not the reality. You put in the work, you learnt the terms and concepts, but you did not have to be that smart. It is more about perseverence, believing it is not as hard as it seems and keeping an optimistic mindset.
The tech world already lacks diversity and I believe the language barrier really is a factor in this. We try to include more variety in the tech landscape by explaining people that it is a creative, fun, ever-growing field. However, when they take their firsts steps, we hit them with all this exhausting terminology.
The Who
The more progress you make, the easier it is to forget what it felt like when you were at the start. This is why beginners are better at explaining concepts, they are more emphatic to what others may experience.
I once found a graph describing the learning curve of anything new. I cannot remember the source, but I re-created it below.
People that aquired a certain level of knowledge, not necessarily a high level, tend to do this. As soon as we understand how things are working, we wonder how come we were ever struggling with them. We proceed to talk to people assuming that everyone is familiar with these simple concepts.
I find it problematic because it makes people with no knowledge think that they should speak like this in order to be good enough. When they eventually reach that level, they continue this vicious circle with other beginners.
While it is natural to use our new knowledge and vocabulary, we should not forget how steep the learning curve is in the beginning. The difference between you knowing nothing and thinking you know everything is the first and a crucial segment. In the beginning it easily seems that achieving a decent level is impossible and it is easier to just quit.
The Why
In my opinion there are two main types to people using such vocabulary:
- those who are in the “You think you know” phase and want to prove they belong to the field
- those that passed the “You realise how much you do not know” phase and got so immersed in this bubble that it feels unnatural to not use their daily vocabulary.
In general, I believe no one has the intent of making others feel bad about themselves. It stems from the way the system currently works.
The End
The tech world is complex. It does need its own vocabulary. However, there is a time and place for both technical and layman terms. When we are actively trying to be aware of our language, we keep the tech bubble open, attractive and make it grow stronger.
If you are a beginner, remember that being the dumbest person in the room means you are already on the right path. And if you are an experienced individual, do not forget to make that room a more welcoming place for a beginner. After all, the innovation of tomorrow cannot exist without taking the first step today.
