Click here to Skip to main content
15,867,308 members
Articles
Tip/Trick
(untagged)

What's in a Name? On Shakespeare, Lincoln, Cream, and European Starlings (and how they relate to "Software Developers")

Rate me:
Please Sign up or sign in to vote.
4.94/5 (5 votes)
9 Nov 2014CPOL3 min read 29.4K   2   6
A better definition for what it is we who create software do/are.

Intro

In his play Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare had Juliet say:

What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;

Not to "dis" the Bard, but diction - what we call things - is very important. Abraham Lincoln made this clear in his famous riddle: "If you call a tail a leg, how many legs does a dog have?" The correct answer is four (for a normal dog) because, as Lincoln explained, "No matter what you call it, a tail is still a tail, not a leg" (or words to that effect).

The Crux of the Biscuit

So what about us "Programmers"? Or are we "Software Developers," or "Software Engineers," or some other such thing?

I hold that all these attempts at defining our profession are misleading. "Programmer" makes people think we stand at computers flipping toggles, watching lights blink on and off. "Developer" has construction connotations - and most software creation doesn't have much in common with the construction process, unless you're talking about the Winchester Mystery House; and "Engineer" makes me think either of a guy (they are almost always guys) with one hand on the brake, leaning out the window looking at the tracks ahead while wearing a stripey hat; or a fella with a protractor and pocket protector intently peering at a schematic or hovering over a blueprint, or some such.

This naming dilemma makes me think of the erstwhile storied British band Cream, a "power trio" comprised of virtuoso guitarist Eric Clapton, the late great bassist/tunesmith/vocalist Jack Bruce, and the sometimes histrionic, oftentimes vitriolic drummer Ginger Baker. Anyway, Mr. Baker recently asserted that Cream was a jazz band. That's a stretch, but I get his drift: they were experimental, and they were blues-based ... but, Cream a jazz combo? I think Ginger is just trying to rewrite his personal history because he thinks Jazz (with a capital "J") is a more worthwhile form of musical expression than rock (casual music lovers would probably simply label Cream with that appellation).

A better description, though, of Cream's style or genre -- in fact the most accurate I've ever read (better than "electric blues" and "power trio" and certainly more on-the-mark than calling them a jazz band) -- is when somebody (can't recall where I read it) referred to them as a "psychedelic blues band". Now that's perfect - that nails who they were and what they projected!

Outro/Peroration

Similarly, I think we who swim in the labyrinthine depths of software creation should call ourselves "Psychedelic Algebraists." A bit of a tongue-twister, perhaps, but more accurate and on-the-money than "Programmer", "Software Developer", "Software Engineer", or any of that rot.

And besides, doesn't "Psychedelic Algebraist" carry much more cachet than the rest of those staid and stilted definitions?

To give a visual representation, "Psychedelic Algebraist" sounds akin to the way a European Starling looks:

Image 1

This magnificently beautiful scorner of the ground (seen here in one of its less scornful attitudes) should be taken up as our "mascot."

Note: Do not let the "European" part of its name mislead you - I saw several of these recently in Monterey, the original capital of California.

Show Your Appreciation

If you like this article, go out on your lawn, propel yourself up and down (akin to a kid with a sugar high) on a pogo stick, with left elbow* akimbo and hat placed at a jaunty (or rakish) angle, all the while shouting: "Zippety-Doo-Dah, Zippety-A!" backwards in a Bronx accent.

* Or right elbow, if you are left-handed. 

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Founder Across Time & Space
United States United States
I am in the process of morphing from a software developer into a portrayer of Mark Twain. My monologue (or one-man play, entitled "The Adventures of Mark Twain: As Told By Himself" and set in 1896) features Twain giving an overview of his life up till then. The performance includes the relating of interesting experiences and humorous anecdotes from Twain's boyhood and youth, his time as a riverboat pilot, his wild and woolly adventures in the Territory of Nevada and California, and experiences as a writer and world traveler, including recollections of meetings with many of the famous and powerful of the 19th century - royalty, business magnates, fellow authors, as well as intimate glimpses into his home life (his parents, siblings, wife, and children).

Peripatetic and picaresque, I have lived in eight states; specifically, besides my native California (where I was born and where I now again reside) in chronological order: New York, Montana, Alaska, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Idaho, and Missouri.

I am also a writer of both fiction (for which I use a nom de plume, "Blackbird Crow Raven", as a nod to my Native American heritage - I am "½ Cowboy, ½ Indian") and nonfiction, including a two-volume social and cultural history of the U.S. which covers important events from 1620-2006: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/blackbirdcraven

Comments and Discussions

 
Suggestiondiction, cream, bird Pin
rrotstein2-Dec-13 4:47
rrotstein2-Dec-13 4:47 
GeneralRe: diction, cream, bird Pin
B. Clay Shannon2-Dec-13 5:06
professionalB. Clay Shannon2-Dec-13 5:06 
QuestionArtisan Pin
.dan.g.28-Nov-13 15:36
professional.dan.g.28-Nov-13 15:36 
QuestionProgrammer,Software developer, Software Engineer Pin
j.saer27-Nov-13 10:42
j.saer27-Nov-13 10:42 
AnswerRe: Programmer,Software developer, Software Engineer Pin
B. Clay Shannon27-Nov-13 10:59
professionalB. Clay Shannon27-Nov-13 10:59 
GeneralRe: Programmer,Software developer, Software Engineer Pin
j.saer27-Nov-13 14:49
j.saer27-Nov-13 14:49 

General General    News News    Suggestion Suggestion    Question Question    Bug Bug    Answer Answer    Joke Joke    Praise Praise    Rant Rant    Admin Admin   

Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.