THE CODE ISSUE 12
Here is another one of my favorite quotes from the special double issue of Bloomberg Businessweek on computer coding. This one solemnly reminds us of how important it is to respect diversity and be careful about our assumptions (Paul Ford, “The Code Issue”, 6/15/15–6/28/15, p. 60):
“ Programming is a task that rewards intense focus and can be done with a small group or even in isolation. It’s come to have an association with Asperger’s syndrome; many programmers will say they ‘are somewhere on the spectrum,’ though these self-diagnoses can be a little self-serving—being obsessive is seen as a good thing by many coders. And some jobs programs have successfully placed people on the autism spectrum in programming careers. But the idea that people with Asperger’s make good programmers is as suspect as the idea that women aren’t naturally inclined to coding; both assumptions, to use a term beloved of the Internet, are problematic, and deeply reductive. Tread lightly: All kinds of people can be programmers. And autistic people can have all kinds of careers. ”
