A Science of Progress

Was playing with Google LMPlus last week. I had it review my Info-Ops II book.

The key question the book sought to answer: once we know what we're going to build for a client, how can we do the best job possible building it? It's not a book about using some sort of programming language or tool to solve technical problems, although there are plenty of coding examples. It's a book about planning to build the right thing using the best choice of tech and resources required for the actual job.

So many books already assume you know the tools and process and are about how to use and apply those things. I've found that many times we've already shot ourselves in the ass by making many, many assumptions like this that simply aren't applicable. This is very similar to the way management can destroy a team or project by "helping", ie overly-constraining things in ways not needed.

LMPlus also makes a podcast out of your book review, which is nice. My book review ended up being a word salad of feel-good advice. I think this is because the generalized meta pieces required for this book aren't things discussed in practical detail in the wild (which was the reason for the book in the first place). One of the nice phrases the podcast used when describing my book, which I quite liked, was "A Science of Progress."

I believe that covers it. That would have been a better title.

Here's the text summary which is not as good. Still, interesting.

This source explores the multifaceted relationship between humans and technology, emphasizing that programming is applied philosophy deeply rooted in our cognitive processes and social interactions. It examines how we create formal systems through language, which inherently involves ambiguity and requires continuous analysis and questioning to achieve shared understanding. The text critiques traditional software development approaches, advocating for simplicity, clear acceptance criteria, and a focus on delivering value while managing code cognitive load. Furthermore, it discusses broader implications of technology on human cognition and society, urging a mindful approach to interface design and ethical considerations to ensure beneficial co-evolution between humans and machines. Ultimately, the source champions a learning-oriented mindset, recognizing the inherent gaps in our knowledge and the necessity of continuously refining our tools and understanding of reality.