alt Hacker News> But I’m definitely not saying that developers aren’t smart enough to do blue collar work.
Fine. I'll say it: developers aren't smart enough to survive a blue collar environment.
My credentials? I worked in a factory in my youth. 12hr shifts, nightshift only, 7 days a week, on assembly lines.
Your average developer is definitely not risk averse enough to keep all their limbs. Where I worked, two people on two different lines lost limbs.
If you have ever used npm install on your daily driver without sand boxing it, you're too stupid to work in a factory.
Replies
There are some really important distinctions in the types of smart we’re talking about, here.
> you have ever
That's way too strong. I would say "if you've ever done it and had an issue and not learned from the mistake then you're too stupid".
The trades differ from software and that there's a lot more "learning on the job" and making rookie mistakes in terms of how the physical world works.
There is learning on the job with software, but it's a much smaller component and much of that is being replaced with AI skills.
Well to be fair the risk of "npm install on your daily driver without sand boxing" is that you might have to wipe and reinstall everything, or even deal with a persistent malware and loss of data. There's no risk of going home missing a limb. That sort of risk does tend to grab your attention a lot more.