zlacker

This has been a common problem as “tech” has increasingly grown into a field that’s departed from some of its roots, but the parallel for tech conferences isn’t in the engineering field, nor is it in a wildly random suggestion of fan conferences:

The comparison is the creative and artistic fields, which absolutely host events and all kinds of opportunities for practicing creatives to meet other practicing creatives and discuss their work.

That’s because programming isn’t an engineering exercise. It’s art. Which isn’t to say engineering practices don’t improve the practice of our art. Just ask a large sculpture artist how much engineering they have to do to put different types of metal in the air.

The fact that programming pays so well has led many to believe the nature of our field is fundamentally different than what it is. We are lucky enough to be passionate about one of the few artistic and creative fields that is extremely lucrative.

We should never lose sight of how fortunate we are.