So in the end CS is actually more about fashion then fashion. We can draw the parallels it is not pretty - the C?O are the designers (the more successful the more high profile). The developers working in these high profile companies are the models, walking around with their new (or old) shiny clothes - e.g. some random technology or process, saying together with C?Os how great and enabling it is. And similar to the fashion this goes in big circles between few years. What have left for us - trying to filter all this noise, make sense of our clothes (jobs), trying to do our jobs (which in some cases means wearing the rags) and wait for the next wave of "inovation".
And all these because there is no clear process by which we as an industry can judge technical solutions. So we are left with a form of pop culture.
Sure, but that was my mistake - I meant CS more general, product/project development way. And looking from this point the two are pretty much involved. Also in this context the development maybe starts to look a lot like a design.
Also recently I come to think that the graphic design (or any form of design) is actually far more scientific that I would think it is. For me it looked a lot of like magic in the beginning, but the more I learn about it, the more I think its pretty similar to development. On the basis level they are both about process, best practices, operating under constraints and of course logical thinking. And on top of that its just a matter of taste.
I like the analogy, actually. There's nothing wrong with a field of work that allows so much creativity. Both involve people working creatively and interactively, which are good ingredients for cultures to flourish. If one were to somehow remove what made our field like fashion, I wonder if there'd be any passion left.
I don't dismiss the creativity and innovation, on the contrary. I just dismiss blindly following the what other people are doing just because they are famous and/or vocal.
I was thinking about innovation this morning actually - how do we innovate? Is it on purpose? I thought that most of the innovation actually comes in one of two ways - by picturing a bright future and bringing the world to it, and much more frequently by coincidence. You are trying to achieve something you envision and most of the times you fail, but in the process of doing this you discover something new. And even then you can actually not realise that you have innovated. Most of the times a certain amount of time needs to pass in order you and the world to realise what you have done.
And all these because there is no clear process by which we as an industry can judge technical solutions. So we are left with a form of pop culture.