I think it actually has a lot to do with the disciplines of Computer and Software Engineering being so new (relatively speaking to pretty much every other arena of engineering). Because of this a couple of things are quite unique to programming (but also quite similar to the other disciplines when they were young):
1. Things change at a much faster rate. As theoretically useful it is to pick up a text book from the 70s, it's not going to provide you with the practical on the job experience needed to work in, say, Ruby on Rails.
2. There's not as many codified ways of working. This means there's a much larger reliance on the 'talent' of the individuals working in the field.
1. Things change at a much faster rate. As theoretically useful it is to pick up a text book from the 70s, it's not going to provide you with the practical on the job experience needed to work in, say, Ruby on Rails.
2. There's not as many codified ways of working. This means there's a much larger reliance on the 'talent' of the individuals working in the field.