* * * * *
                                        
       I think there's a lesson here in simplicity, but I'm not sure what
                                        
> Once upon a time, unbeknownst to each other, the "Automated Accounting
> Applications Association" and the "Consolidated Computerized Capital
> Corporation" decided that they needed the identical program to perform a
> certain service.
> 
> Automated hired a programmer-analyst, Alan, to solve their problem.
> 
> Meanwhile, Consolidated decided to ask a newly hired entry-level
> programmer, Charles, to tackle the job, to see if he was as good as he
> pretended.
> 
> Alan, having had experience in difficult programming projects, decided to
> use the PQR structured design methodology. With this in mind he asked his
> department manager to assign another three programmers as a programming
> team. Then the team went to work, churning out preliminary reports and
> problem analyses.
> 
> Back at Consolidated, Charles spent some time thinking about the problem.
> His fellow employees noticed that Charles often sat with his feet on the
> desk, drinking coffee. He was occasionally seen at his computer terminal,
> but his office mate could tell from the rhythmic striking of keys that he
> was actually playing Space Invaders.
> 

Via Hacker News [1], “The Parable of the Two Programmers [2]”

For some reason, I keep thinking back to making it look too easy [3].
Strange.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8942176
[2] http://www.csd.uwo.ca/staff/magi/personal/humour/Computer_Audience/The
[3] gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2015/06/04.1

Email Sean Conner at sean@conman.org

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