Michael Gurstein wrote:
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: Thursday, February 05, 1998 8:22 PM
> Subject: Re: y2k -Reply
>
> .......
>
> You probably recognize Edward Yourdon's name as one of the
> longtime gurus of structured programming. (For those on the list who
> don't recognize his name, for years Ed wrote books, conducted
> seminars and sold tools to help people trying to manage unmanageable
> systems like the ones running 360 assembler that should be turned into
> boat anchors.)
[snip]
Ah, yes! The Structured Programming con$ultant$! What were
they really up to: DESKILLING PROGRAMMERS. Theirs was not
computer science, but a Foucaultean technology of disciplining
bodies (AKA "social science"). I would urge anyone
interested in this aspect of the contemporary world to read
Philip Kraft's fine book: _Programmers and Managers:
The Routinization of Computer Programming in the United
States_ (Springer, 1977).
A personal story. I once had my third-line manager tell me
that the reason they used higher level languages was that most
of the programmers were not competent to code assembly language
correctly. I.e., by dumbing down the technology, they
enhance productivity. My first line manager made the same
point a slightly different way: "I know *you* can do the
job your own way, but what about the other 300 people
we have?" My response: "Tell them that they need to follow your
rules because they can't do it their own way." Needless
to say, I never got a promotion in *that* organization!
\brad mccormick
--
Mankind is not the master of all the stuff that exists, but
Everyman (woman, child) is a judge of the world.
Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
(914)238-0788 / 27 Poillon Rd, Chappaqua, NY 10514-3403 USA
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