2026-07-17 18:31 UTC
We don't know what to build unless we empathize with the people using the software. We feel what they feel, influenced by a lifetime of art we have experienced, and make a decision about what would be best for the person using the software we're writing.
Technology development work is about understanding, caring about, and improving the experience of others.
Your statistics engine doesn't care about me so it can't make good choices about what software to make me.
Replies (1)
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@alexanderbird@mstdn.ca 2026-07-17 18:32
As for me, when I write software, I'm making empathy-driven decisions all day long. What will the developer understand when they read this error message? Should we prevent this edge case, give the user information about it so they can fix it, or fail catastrophically? Will a user care about this problem, or shall we magically resolve it behind the scenes? Should this be a user setting, or would that be annoying? Is there a good default? All day long I think about people and what matters to them. Your statistics engine doesn't know what people care about because it hasn't been engaging with art for decades, learning what makes other people tick.