biston7

Yeah I just disagree. I actually think Java is a terrible teaching language. Folks for whom Java is the closest they come to the hardware tend not to understand the internals of how computers actually work well enough to do things like understand where bits fit into bytes or what happens if you recast an int into a double without converting the underlying data.

Many times that doesn't matter, but to me it's important to have a supple and complete understanding of the underlying ideas. Java fails at that.

When I referred to memory I meant more than malloc and free. It's things like understanding how an array of ints is laid out in memory and what happens when you treat it as an array of chars instead. If you talk about this to a Java programmer, their eyes are likely to cross.

I wouldn't think of it in those terms. Most programmers aren't "amazingly good" at it. So, I'd say most work as ... programmers.

I just wanted to make this point because I've repeatedly seen folks frustrated by others who just get things faster and ultimately make progress much more quickly in their careers.

I think it's useful/important to acknowledge that programming is a bit like sports. It's not fair, but some people start with an incredible genetic (or something) advantage built in. I've seen this time and again.

You should learn C. Most current engineers don't, and therefore the fundamentals of things like memory allocation, data types, call stacks, etc. remain a mystery to them.

I have one other comment to make. In my opinion, being a strong programmer is mostly a "knack," meaning it's not a particularly teachable skill. Some people are just amazingly good at it. If you are, great. If not, I suggest acknowledging that and fashioning a career that doesn't rely primarily on programming skills.

You're comparing apples and oranges. Rocketry is a domain which until very recently was completely the province of governments. Lack of competition definitely causes problems with innovation. Also, I've read some articles that suggest SpaceX is unlikely to achieve the economies they tout.

The car industry has essentially always been very competitive, with a number of innovative companies. Consider the rise of hybrid cars with Honda and Toyota leading the way. GM famously did a lot of the pioneering of modern EVs.

Also, the point grandparent was making is that you see a similar pattern of deception from Tesla. Sure, maybe sometimes it works out. But not always.

Another interesting question is whether deception is actually bad for human advancement in the long run. In fact, maybe the answer is no. I bet a lot of innovations came about because of founders essentially lying to investors to get a check and then ultimately finding a way.