On Craftsmanship

OK. I haven’t blogged in quite some time (for both of you that care), but I ran into something that really struck me today. Some of you may know that I have a hobby of woodworking, and not surprisingly, the idea of software as craftsmanship resonates with me. I’ve also found myself in an Architect role at work, and there’s some amount of cognitive dissonance I work to resolve. I found the text of a book from 1914 (now public domain) entitled Carpentry for Boys (I read “boys” as “apprentices”) and I was attracted to the chapter called “The Carpenter and the Architect.” Go ahead and read it. It’s not long, but full of metaphor to software craftsmanship and architecture.

I love the concluding career advice the author offers the apprentices: Know for yourself the reasons for things.

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