A Lightning Talk I'm giving at the Ruby on Rails Meetup for October 3rd 2013.

1. Programming as a Tool
Not a Profession
By: Will Bridges

2. Who Am I?
● Programmer for 15+ years
● Ruby programmer since 2006
● Entrepreneur – Owner of Fashion Bytes, Inc.
● Senior Developer for Standard Parking
● Father of a Seven Year Old Boy
● Lover of Sociology, Technology, & History
● Nashville Resident Since October 2005

3. Abstraction
● Essential To Progress: Think Farming, Think
Industry, Think more industry relevant: Mouse &
Keyboard vs. Punchcard
● Layers of Abstraction Make Programming
Easier With Less Education
● Rails And Most Frameworks Are Abstractions
● Leads To More People Being Able To Do More
With Less Effort – Built On The Effort of Others

4. Supply & Demand
● Better Tool
Abstraction & Better
Education Leads To
More Labor
● More Labor Means
Higher Supply
● When Supply
Exceeds Demand
The Price Of Supply
Drops

5. Exponential Rise of Technology
● Not In My Lifetime,
Right? Possibly
● See Ray Kurzweil:
The Singularity
● What Is The Future
of Programming?
● Assisted Coding,
Cheap Education,
Conceptual
Assistance

6. What Are You Getting At?
● Programming Is A Set Of Written Instructions A
Computer Can Understand For Problem Solving
● Programs Usually Result In Some Combination
Of Data Analysis, Simulation, And Simplified
Communication Between Humans
● Input/Output
● Think Of Programming As A Set Of Tools For
Problem Solving Rather Than A Career Path

7. Revolutionize Your Niche
Pick One Or Find One You Love
● Automobiles
● Health & Medicine
● Finance
● Team Sports
● Politics
● Fashion
● Movies
● Books
● Metal Detecting
● Construction
● Bail Bonds. Yep ;)
● Weather Pattern
Analysis
● Farming
● Vending Machines
● Independent Crafts

8. Diversify Your Investment
● Eggs: Yum!
● Your Labor Is An
Investment AS Much As
Money Is
● You Are Your Employer
● Businesses Pay You For
Part Of Your Labor
● Invest Some In A Niche(s)
You Love
● Partner With Those
Outside Of Your Niches

9. Will Bridges
Where You Can Find Me
Twitter & Instagram: @invisiwill
Facebook: facebook.com/williambridges
My Company: fashionbytesinc.com
will@fashionbytesinc.com

10. Will Bridges
Where You Can Find Me
Twitter & Instagram: @invisiwill
Facebook: facebook.com/williambridges
My Company: fashionbytesinc.com
will@fashionbytesinc.com