The Great Software Illusion

Content Someone uploads code on stackoverflow Literally rest of the world: our code

Content Me: uploads code to stack overflow so that other people can help me debug the error I'm getting Everyone else working on the military's missile guidance software:

Content One upvote on reddit One upvote on Stack Overflow

Content When part of your code doesn't work so you replace it with something from the internet

Content I've interviewed a lot of people over the last year (Java), and my favorite test is to throw a Stack Trace at them and ask them to figure out what the problem is. The answer is actually quite clear, however. Half of them don't know it's called a stack trace. Some don't know what they're looking at (BYE!). Several focus on the wrong section of proprietary code. Some ask to "open a debugger". however the answer is right there in plain english if you just read the method names. Many don't realize the line numbers are RIGHT THERE, and then start focusing on the lines ending with "Compiled Code". Then there are the ones who work their way up from the bottom, starting with the application container code, and lose their minds. Some who figure out what is happening don't have a solution to prevent it from happening. No, I'm not sharing the trace; suffice to say it's been reviewed by more than 5 of my peers and they all passed. Like Reply 1h Edited I mean, it isn't hard to eliminate people with a coding question. Do you find it impossible to teach people how to read text stack traces, or is this a skill without which they will be unable to do anything of use, or do you just not want to hire anyone? 1 am serious. 1 can come up with dozens of useful programming skills I can test a candidate on that most perfectly skilled programmers would fail. Start with eliminating people who can't code at all. Then find out what they can do that could be useful. If I have 5 people who can already take a printed out stack crash dump, I probably don't need another, and if I do, a qualified candidate can be taught that skill by someone who knows it in under a week. Then again, maybe you work for Stack Trace Inc, and your entire job is looking at stack traces. If so, by bad. Like Reply 22m

Ah, the medical records don't lie! Being a computer programmer isn't just an occupation—it's a diagnosable condition right up there with anxiety, depression, and irritable bowel syndrome. Makes perfect sense why it's sandwiched between acid reflux and Crohn's disease. The doctor just wrote down the symptoms (sleep deprivation, caffeine addiction, and the thousand-yard stare at Stack Overflow) and accidentally created the most accurate medical assessment in history. Turns out debugging isn't just something you do—it's something you have .