The title quote on my blog – the lyf so short, the craft so longe to lerne – comes courtesy of Geoffrey Chaucer, from The Parliament of Fowls. It’s a poetic translation of the Latin Ars Longa, Vita Brevis, and I can think of no better words that represent my philosophy on software development.
Before I had become a developer, I had intentions of becoming a scientist. My hero was a man named Ernst Mayr. He did a number of great things for the field of biology, but more to the point, he was still working at 100 years of age. He was still publishing at 100 years of age. Here was a man who loved what he did, and after living a longer life than most people will get, was still learning.
I wanted a profession like that. I wanted a craft like that.
On the way to becoming a scientist, an odd thing happened. I fell in love with software development. And, somewhere along the way, I ended up here.
Currently, I’m working at ThoughtWorks, a global consultancy with a history of innovation in software development.
-Brandon Byars