Red Green Repeat Adventures of a Spec Driven Junkie

Good bye Pieter Hintjens

As I write this, I am sitting on the ground of an over crowded train to Grand Central, and all I think about is Pieter Hintjens, who passed away this week.

I found out about Pieter from the Ruby Rogues podcast episode #188. What really struck me about him was that he demonstrated all the qualities of a technology leader I want to be. Just the right amount of empathy to build a great community, but strong enough to keep the peace. I listened to this podcast twice in a row, (rare since I usually speed up my podcasts when listening.) Snippets from that podcast:

On keeping the peace in community:

I take that very seriously. This process is supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be very much this learn, play, work, teach cycle where it’s fun. It’s like Minecraft. It should be addictive and it should be fun. And when someone is doing harm to other people, giving them stress and anxiety and hurting them even in the low doses, then I get very perky and I get very defensive. Mama bear comes out and starts looking around and, “Who is doing this?” And I don’t care how good their code is. Often, their code is very well-argued and very interesting. But it’s hurting somebody. And if one person says, “I am feeling pain,” and ten people aren’t saying anything but they’re just going away.

On why there’s fewer women in technology:

And women are just not so stupid as to spend years of their life buying into utter rubbish. And they’re like, “Come on. We have better things to do than this.” But young guys have no taste and they’re willing to spend 20 years learning the most arcane nonsense just to be able to one-up each other. “Hey, I know this new stuff.” And I think that’s it. I think the problem with technology is the magical thinking that’s gone, you know. Yes, yes, yes, and the willingness to spend years and years and years learning the most arcane nonsense just to be able to spout keywords at someone else and beat them. It’s magic. It’s wizard-ish. And this magic wizard-ish technology thing I think has put women off. And I think justly. I think it’s a very wise decision not to go and invest that much effort in rubbish.

After listening to his Ruby rogues interview, I went on to discover his books, two that I have checked out:

  • Culture and Empire: the opening chapters are so profound in the way it discusses the role of technology and business through the ages and its cycles. Something I have pondered but Pieter writes it so eloquently.
  • The Psychopath Code: which describes the reality of software practice and how to deal with it: mind blowing.

I have yet to read both books completely, but even the first few chapters offers fantastic insight for any programmer that has worked for a few years.

Pieter really stands out to me since he has such strong convictions but still so humble. It is incredible how much he has contributed to the world.

Seeing Pieter’s tweets this year has been hard. My dad went through chemo and didn’t have any problems because he was able to maintain his nutrition up by inhaling three Ensure drinks as a meal, a habit he formed before starting chemo. I gave the same advice to Pieter, but it was too late and his situation was totally different.

His description of his fight with cancer really opened my eye to understanding what other cancer patients are going through. It’s something I will remember and share when I meet others in a similar situation.

For someone that I did not meet, his passing has made me think. I offer my condolences to Pieter’s family and friends. I will apply the knowledge Pieter has left behind to make the world a better place.