Birgitta Böckeler's talk “A programmer is…” traces back the steps of the programmer profession to its beginnings over 70 years ago, and reflects on how those beginnings might have shaped our image of who programmers are today. When the task of “programming” first emerged and became more and more important, how did companies hire for this totally new career? What shaped the profession and how non-programmers and potential aspiring programmers perceive it? And how might all that be connected to our ongoing struggle to achieve more diversity in the industry?

1. APROGRAMMERIS…
@birgitta410
2015
B i r g i t t a B ö c k e l e r

2. “The computer boys take over”
Nathan Ensmenger, 2010

3. http://www.hnf.de

4. Programmers – like these guys?

6. The ENIAC “girls” (1940s)

7. http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/birth-of-the-computer/4/78/2258

8. Computers
Operators
Coders

9. Nobody saw it coming?

10. Nobody saw it coming?

11. 1962

12. It was with some shock and dismay that he
realized that “a good part of the remainder of
my life was going to be spent in finding errors
in my own programs”.
Maurice Wilkes,
memoirs

13. Programming is error-prone!

14. “Black Art”
“Programmers are born,
not made”
“When a programmer is good,
he is very, very good.
But when he is bad, he is horrid.”
(IBM, 1968)
View of programming in 50s/60s
“Software crisis”

17. 1962: 80% of businesses
used some form of aptitude test
Half of them used IBM PAT
1967 alone: 700.000 individuals

18. (1966)

19. crazy about puzzles,
tend to like research applications and risk-taking,
dislike routine and regimentation,
Programmers are
1966

20. crazy about puzzles,
tend to like research applications and risk-taking,
dislike routine and regimentation,
and don’t like people
Programmers are
1966

22. 1956: 700 programmers
700 = 3/5 of available
programmers in US)
By 1961: 7000 more
SDC & the “SAGE” Project

23. Surprise!

24. “Black Art”
“Programmers are born,
not made”
“When a programmer is good,
he is very, very good.
But when he is bad, he is horrid.”
(IBM, 1968)
View of programming in 50s/60s
“Software crisis”

25. Female Computer Science student, ca. 2000
There are people who are born to do this, and
I am not one of them. And it’s definitely not
one of those things that, like, “Oh, with
practice, you will become one who is born to
do it.” …
You just gotta be born to be like, ‘Computers!
Yeah! They are awesome!! They are my
life!’ You know, a lot of computer scientists,
that’s all they do.”

26. “Unlocking the Clubhouse”
Jane Margolis / Allan Fisher
2002

27. “I don’t live to program. I know guys who
live to program, or at least they seem to.
You find them on the weekends doing
nothing but programming and I just think,
‘How can they do that?’ I guess I think I’m
more balanced.”
“I enjoy computer science, but it’s not my life.”

28. 28
Passion!

29. 29
Passion!
…or obsession?

30. “If we are using a single model to
identify potential programmers, we
will miss many potential students.”

31. What is the
“vocational interest scale”
in OUR heads?

32. medium.com/@ericajoy
“The other side of diversity”

34. Don’t think the status
quo is “just natural”

35. https://modelviewculture.com/pieces/stop-acting-so-surprised-how-microaggressions-enforce-stereotypes-in-tech
Stop acting so surprised

36. Challenge your image of
the “real programmer”

38. “The computer boys
take over”
Nathan Ensmenger
“Pioneer Programmer”
Jean Jennings Bartik
“Unlocking the
Clubhouse”
Jane Margolis /
Allan Fisher
https://modelviewculture.com/
pieces/stop-acting-so-surprised-
how-microaggressions-enforce-
stereotypes-in-tech
https://medium.com/this-is-hard/
the-other-side-of-diversity-
1bb3de2f053e
http://devslovebacon.com/
conferences/bacon-2013/talks/
bacon-is-bad-for-you
@birgitta410
“Let IT go”
Dame Stephanie
Shirley