Linus Torvalds: 'I'm not a programmer anymore'
zdnet.com
zdnet.com
I like thinking about and solving problems - writing code is the tedious part of implementing a solution to me. The less I have to do of that, the more time I can spend on new problems and new solutions.
In fact, my number one advice to junior programmers I advise is: write better tests. Write tests that prevent production bugs. Write tests that allow people to add a new feature with confidence they aren't breaking an old one. Write tests that give 99% of the signal required in 30 seconds, etc, etc.
That said, I often do love writing code- when it's something I'm interested in, that nobody else has done before, and I know once the code is done I'll learn a fact nobody else in the world knows (I work in scientific ML). That's a dopamine hit that is hard to match. But, after a while of advisor really top-notch juniors, I've learned to enjoy the pleasure of... not having to do everything myself, and seeing smart people do things I couldn't have done, in shorter time.
Linus is one of a kind. I wish somebody would get him to write a book on his Thinking, Design Methodology and Programming Techniques aimed squarely at the Technical Folks. His record is unparalleled and his no-nonsense style highly effective. All worthy of being studied and emulated by other Managers/Programmers.
I know it reduces my pedigree, and I think more importantly, stability. That said, I would do with the more stability, but as long as I'm on papers that the big wigs are co-authors on, I'm okay.
It's true - I saw his pseudocode to make getrandom() insecure.