scrape_r_rational/data/cache2/5yl4iq.md

## [RT, HSF] Programmer at Large, Chapter 7: Who wrote this?

* Author: u/DRMacIver *
* URL: http://www.drmaciver.com/2017/03/programmer-at-large-who-wrote-this/
* Score: 34

* Created: 2017-03-10T09:08:22

### Post:

[Link to content](http://www.drmaciver.com/2017/03/programmer-at-large-who-wrote-this/)

### Comments:

> **u/PeridexisErrant** [+7]  *put aside fear for courage, and death for life* (44 minutes later)
> 
> Oh, I wrote this.  
> 
> *reads chapter*  
> 
> Yep, I've been there. Why, earlier today I spent half an hour staring at a one-liner bug I'd just introduced, and an hour or so designing a manual config option, realising I'd done that in 2015, and working out how to use it again. (I blame the flu)

> **u/ArgentStonecutter** [+3]  *Emergency Mustelid Hologram* (5 hours later)
> 
> Just spent a week tracking down a memory corruption problem that was due to a missing reference count call in some code I imported last year. 
> 
> Hopefully they don't have to deal with manual memory management in this future history.

>> **u/DRMacIver** [+7]  (5 hours later)
>> 
>> Well, the story opened with them having to work on some C++ (which they promptly threw away)...
>> 
>> In general the ship is probably running at least one instance of every bad idea programmers have ever come up with, but new code probably gets to be a little more respectable.

> **u/shougo007** [+3]  (3 hours later)
> 
> Just started reading the first chapter and gotta say, I think I'll stay :)
> 
> As a software developer that is only just maturing in the field, I laugh and cry at how hopeless some of the institutions of our society are and how small minded a lot of people can be.
> 
> (Sorry for the rather generic comment, I'll read more, beyond the first chapter related to copyright and comment again haha)

> **u/brmj** [+3]  (7 hours later)
> 
> I noticed that in this chapter, you had Arthur put their hair in a bun, but in your notes you said that they have "straight black hair that they wear quite short". My mental image of "quite short" is much too short for a bun. Is this an oversight, or did your thoughts change since those notes were written?

>> **u/DRMacIver** [+3]  (13 hours later)
>> 
>> The latter. It amused me to decide that despite their otherwise very masculine presentation Kimiko had a fancy updo, and from there it was a short step to deciding that actually fancy hair styles were the default despite the otherwise fairly functional appearances of the crew and I decided to take that step because it was consistent with the rest of my world building and why not.
>> 
>> (In general a great deal of the world building in programmer at large is the result of a repeated cycle of me deciding on things on the fly because it would be funny or it seemed neat and then thinking through the implications to their logical conclusions)

>>> **u/Chronophilia** [+2]  *sci-fi ≠ futurology* (a day later)
>>> 
>>> I'm sure Arthur can explain why hairstyles are a universal part of human nature, how neat hair makes a first impression, and that doing someone else's hair is a classic bonding ritual going back to prehistoric times.
>>> 
>>> ... either that or it's just a quirk of the ship they're on. Or both.

>>>> **u/DRMacIver** [+2]  (2 days later)
>>>> 
>>>> > ... either that or it's just a quirk of the ship they're on.
>>>> 
>>>> Mostly this with a little bit of both.
>>>> 
>>>> My vague reasoning for why it makes sense is that a) Closed ecosystems will tend to exhibit random weird variation just 'cause and b) Having a distinctive look for your ship is useful for creating a sense of cohesion, so where weird quirks occur they will often get exaggerated.
>>>> 
>>>> Apparently one of the weird quirks that the Eschaton Arbitrage crew ended up selecting for is really good hairstyles.
>>>> 
>>>> (My supplemental reasoning for why this made sense is that I think that it makes the Lesbian Space Pirates joke/world-building work even better)

> **u/None** [+1]  (2 hours later)
> 
> [deleted]

>> **u/DRMacIver** [+3]  (4 hours later)
>> 
>> Hmm. I'm not aware of it being noticeably difficult to float face down in the water. Is that a having breasts thing? When I did free diving this wasn't something I noticed the women having a problem with, but I wasn't really paying attention!

>>> **u/None** [+1]  (4 hours later)
>>> 
>>> [deleted]

>>>> **u/DRMacIver** [+3]  (5 hours later)
>>>> 
>>>> I think the way the dynamics of this work is that if your arms dangle down they're more than enough to counterbalance any flotation effect from breasts unless you have a fair bit of body fat.
>>>> 
>>>> But, well, I have no practical experience of having breasts (other than default male body plan sized ones) so I'm not really sure either.

>>>>> **u/None** [+3]  (11 hours later)
>>>>> 
>>>>> Clearly this calls for a mythbusters-style experiment. Fill some water balloons with lard, duct tape them to your chest, and jump in the local pool.

>>>>>> **u/DRMacIver** [+4]  (13 hours later)
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Or, you know, we could ask someone who already has breasts 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> ETA: I've now run this experiment and my n=2 sample size unanimously reports that this isn't a thing and floating face down is easy.

>>>>>>> **u/None** [+2]  (18 hours later)
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I still think you should do the water balloon thing, for the comedy value.

> **u/brmj** [+1]  (7 days later)
> 
> Not to be greedy, but are we expecting a chapter 8 at some time in particular?

>> **u/DRMacIver** [+2]  (7 days later)
>> 
>> Next Friday, sorry. They're every other week at the moment.

>>> **u/brmj** [+1]  (7 days later)
>>> 
>>> That's entirely fine. I'll be looking forward to it.

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