Privacy is Not Important
Ok, my headline is deliberately provocative. Privacy is important. But, often it is not. I think we are being very silly over issues of privacy.
It is stupid to spend hours typing information on public websites and to then worry about keeping it private. Facebook was designed to share information. The Web was designed to make information widely available.
Deleting your Facebook account over issues of privacy is like boycotting the local grocery store because people gawk when you pull down your pants. Are you going to tell the grocery store owner that you refuse to return until he or she provides a means to control who sees your bum when your pants are down around your ankles? Or, are you going to refrain from pulling your pants down in public? Which makes more sense?
Facebook is a public place: govern yourself accordingly. Don’t be stupid! If you are having an affair, don’t talk about it on Facebook. If you lied to the boss, said that you were sick, and went golfing instead, don’t put the pictures on Facebook.
Of course, there are real privacy issues, but do not assume that nobody is watching you on the Internet. Break the word down: “Inter”, which means between, among or within; and “net”, which means to catch and ensnare. If your neighbors are laughing behind your back because they saw you naked in front of your window, it is silly to blame that on your landlord. The Internet is a public place. There are better places to be private.
Having said this, there is information that you share online, with a legal understanding that it will not be shared for any other purpose than the purpose you ascribe. That is a contract. Still, sometimes you need a contract, but other times, all you need is common sense.
Take Tech Seriously!
I have spent decades learning how to program computers. It should take decades. I have dedicated myself to lifelong learning, and, to tell the truth, it’s a bit of a love affair.
Many people in the so-called enterprise do not take what I do seriously. There are two trends that I find silly. First, there is the plethora of books that promise that you can become proficient with any computer language or technology in just 21 days. Give me break! Read what Peter Norvig had to say in a very good article entitled Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years.
The other trend is expensive training that cannot possible provide much value. Training dollars are being wasted. There are companies who send employees off on four day courses to learn how to program in .NET, for example. These courses can cost $2,500 or more per person. What can you learn in four days? Really? One such course actually states: “Prior programming experience is helpful but not required.” Again, give me a break!
As Novig writes: “There appear to be no real shortcuts: even Mozart, who was a musical prodigy at age 4, took 13 more years before he began to produce world-class music.”
Learn Python, Why Don’t You?
Since I have been writing about Jython, a version of Python implemented on the JVM, I thought I would provide a link to some Python resources for Java programmers who are using DB4O: Learn Python, why don’t you?
If you like what Java has to offer in terms of class libraries, but you like the Python language and its idioms, then Jython is the best of both worlds.
To prepare for my next installments on Jython, Django and DB4O, read about introspection in Python.