The Scribe's Oath • Robert "Uncle Bob" Martin • GOTO 2017
Video Statistics and Information
Channel: GOTO Conferences
Views: 153,832
Rating: undefined out of 5
Keywords: GOTO, GOTOcon, GOTO Conference, GOTO (Software Conference), Videos for Developers, Computer Science, GOTOams, GOTO Amsterdam, Uncle Bob, The Scribe's Oath, Clean Coder, Coder's Code
Id: Tng6Fox8EfI
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 59min 15sec (3555 seconds)
Published: Tue Jun 27 2017
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I watched the whole thing, and the first half is really great, which is a pity because the actual "oath" he suggests is pure cancer. He first suggests that programmers should have an oath of ethics because of how important code and coders are in all aspects of today's society. An oath to "do no evil", which is fine, maybe even a good idea.
But in his actual oath, he suddenly mixes in (slightly paraphrased) "I swear to always be agile" and "I swear to always use TDD", which just ruins everything he's built up throughout the talk. Suddenly it's an oath to follow your stupid 100% test coverage rules in my weekend projects? Fuck that and fuck you.
Why is his nickname "uncle bob"? I find that so weird.
I watched 22 minutes of it. I stopped because by that point he hadn't managed to finish concluding his analogy. Unless you know what he is going to talk about (and he is famous so that might be obvious), there is way too much of a build up if you just want to see if it is an interesting topic.
Although I can of course guess what he was going for. Probably that programmers are too undisciplined and should be more like scribes. However, spending 22 minutes on that build-up without any insightful tips like how to do it is not worth it.
I think Martin has some great things to say. I disagree with a lot of stuff, but that's the best thing about our industry... It's full of different ideas we can all talk about, have our opinions on, and eventually, maybe it'll take 10 or 15 years, the cream will rise to the top.
Having said that, I dislike him as a speaker and salesman. Everyone I enjoy listening to or watching speak, really gets into the meaty stuff quickly, because they have sooo much to talk about and such little time. Sure, there may be one or two anecdotes, but they are always trying to convey their ideas to everyone, inclusively, and I come away feeling more competent than I was before.
Martin on the other hand... Faffs about, gives long winded, sometimes unrelated stories, and leaves just enough time to cover 'some' of the information people would be interested in. I once saw a SOLID talk, where he only got through 2 1/2 principles. This in actual fact, leaves me feeling less competent than before I knew any principles, and I believe this is actually the intention. Martin seems to use fear, rather than inspiration as a teaching tool.
The kicker to all these talks is, if you want the rest, you need to buy a book, hire his consultancy or pay in some way. Now, while I am not against that, it is not what I want to see at a conference, or when I am trying to learn about a topic. Just my opinion.
I applaud the idea of a professional oath or code of conduct. The programmer with the humility to recognize his or her duty to the end user, the customer, and the public good is the programmer I want to work with! Real professionals in engineering, medicine, law, finance, and other industries all engage in professional activities including participation in professional societies, taking oaths, and even licensing. It's time to leave the basement and the adolescent attitude and join them.
It is a shame, that there are dozens of wannabe developers flaming this topic.