40 years of programming

I love this essay sharing experiences from a long career programming. I often say "Technology is a team sport" but I've struggled to get a bite-size explanation of that for those that are still stuck on the hoodie-wearing lone developer in a dark room incapable of communication. This essay isn't bite-sized, but it is a great explainer for the team sport analogy.

It's not enough to know how computers work, how to use programming languages, to know algorithms and data structures, or how to use the varied tools involved in software construction. You also need to know how to talk with other people to learn what software to build, what it must do, how much effort is acceptable, how to manage the work, and many more things. You have know how to work with others to build something together that's bigger than any of you. If you and your team can do it well, it'll be bigger than the sum of you. Team work can be a force multiplier.

There are many great observations here worth reading.