Beware of programmers who carry screwdrivers

noctilucent · 06-14-2009, 02:08 PM

Hello.

You've probably heard / read something along the lines of "Beware of programmers who carry screwdrivers". I've never met this IRL but I stumbled upon it on the internet [I don't remember how many years ago I -first- came accross it]. In any case, I realised today that I have no idea what exactly it is supposed to say. So.. what is it supposed to say?

kellinwood · 06-14-2009, 02:13 PM

I've never heard of this saying before, but it seems like a metaphor warning against people who would use inappropriate tools for the job.

easuter · 06-14-2009, 03:01 PM

Staby staby!

/dev/me · 06-15-2009, 02:17 AM

I know it like this:

The three major threats to a system are:
3) A programmer with a screwdriver
2) A technician with a patch
1) A user with an idea

It may mean that someone who knows a lot about software easily overestimates how much he knows about fixing hardware problems, and vice versa. And users, well anyone in Systems Administration can tell you, no good has ever come from a user

moxieman99 · 06-15-2009, 04:15 PM

Several years ago the place I was working for bought an enterprise-wide web version of Retrievalware, a text search engine. Now, I knew little enough about computers, and everyone, including the Retrievalware people, knew that. Still and all, when they called and confirmed the date for the field visit to install and I said "Yup, I've got two roustabouts and a welder confirmed for that time," the dead silence on the other side for a good 30 seconds was priceless.