Q: Is programming a super-power? Why or why not? What are the implications if it is (and what is your power)?
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A: “The programmers of tomorrow are the wizards of the future”, said the founder of Valve, Gabe Newell, in a YouTube video labelled, “What Most Schools Don’t Teach”. I remember watching this video before deciding to switch my major from Chemical Engineering to Computer Science a few years ago. I remember resonating with the hype of creating a simple Hello World program, and thinking that if these amazing people in that video initially came from a humble start, that I could do it too. But even with these recent pushes of hyping up working in technology, it’s misleading in terms of it being a smooth journey, and I don’t think that it is indeed a super-power.
Don’t get me wrong, I do think programming is something magical, but to compare coding to the abilities of the heroes of Marvel or DC universes, may seem a bit farfetched to both non-programmers and programmers, and maybe that’s because those super-powers are portrayed as something inherent, or innate in the protagonist. However, programming, has created almost magical-like properties in its advancements. Programming has created new needs, new products, and new ways to do all things imaginable. As an example, maybe 20 or so years ago, one couldn’t imagine talking to whoever or being wherever in the universe in the span of seconds, yet the instant communication available to all, the space tech that lets humanity explore outside of its home planet, and the transportation that exists today make it viable! I do think as this trend continues, the analogy comparing super-powers and programming may be closer than ever as more impossible things continue to become possible.
But programming is still not a super-power. Rather it’s something that’s been built on the backs of many people, and it continues to be handed down so that programming now becomes available to use to anyone. Just as in the reading “To Serve Man, with Software”, it states “we collectively advance the whole of programming for everyone”. So rather than blasting fire or shooting laser beams from just one person, programming is something that’s created by and available to everyone. Yet even though it’s built on the work of programmers, its feats are attributed to very few people that represent that product. It’s parallel to the fact that it’s easier to remember the main figurehead like in superhero movies where only the superheroes / actors are remembered and no one wants to stick around for the end credits. Yet, those people had everything to do with that final product, and just like coding, never see that recognition or daylight (which also in turn, blame to be unseen from as well).
Programming is also a bit over-glorified. People tend to forget the frustrating parts of it as well, as who would want to advertise something as sitting at a computer possibly staring at a huge codebase that no one knows how it works (with no documentation) or possibly just ripping your hair out and questioning your life’s existence only to realize that your error was a simple syntax mistake.
So just because programming is not a super-power, doesn’t mean its impact requires a lot of responsibility. Just like any advancement, its use needs to be ethically defined and we as programmers as responsible for what we make as well as what it’ll be used for. Great power can’t have ethically complacent, lazy programmers.