On 18/08/2011 08:51 PM, Darren New wrote:
> On 8/18/2011 8:04, Invisible wrote:
>> The question is, why does this kind of nonsense only happen in IT?
>
> Because IT is all virtual. Nobody who doesn't understand what's going on
> knows how to evaluate the results.

I suppose that's it then.

> Someone can look at a bridge across a wide river and say "Heck, no way
> any sane person can build it for $4000." But there's no concept there
> for software.

So, like I said, a bridge built by idiots looks nothing like a bridge 
built by professionals, but software built by idiots sometimes /does/ 
look like the stuff the professionals build.

>> So if it doesn't happen in structural engineering, why the hell does it
>> constantly happen in software engineering?
>
> Because people understand physics, and they don't understand
> informatics.

I guess that's what it comes down to.

And yet, you can tell the difference between a video shot by a couple of 
students and edited in their bedroom, verses one shot as part of a 
multi-million dollar film production. And nobody would expect to be able 
to produce Hollywood-class results on a £25 budget. That's fairly 
virtual. I've even seen videos on YouTube with blockbuster-style digital 
effects. And yet, you can still tell it's not the work of a pro.

> Plus, people doing structural stuff like that aren't doing
> something entirely new, but people don't duplicate what's already done
> in software.

I'm not sure that's *completely* true.

 From time to time, somebody builds something that's truly 
ground-breaking. The world's tallest building, perhaps. Or the longest 
bridge. Or whatever.

And while no two pieces of software are /exactly/ alike, lots of them 
are extremely damned similar. How many compilers are there? How many 
relational database engines? How many Java VM implementations? How many 
versions of the MP3 codec? Need I go on?

Still, I take your point.

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