Editing 1319: Automation
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| titletext = 'Automating' comes from the roots 'auto-' meaning 'self-', and 'mating', meaning 'screwing'. | | titletext = 'Automating' comes from the roots 'auto-' meaning 'self-', and 'mating', meaning 'screwing'. | ||
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | The comic refers to the phenomenon | + | The comic refers to the phenomenon by which attempts to create programs to automate menial but frequent tasks to save time and effort often end up taking much more time than the menial tasks would have taken. The first graph reflects the assumed ideal that leads programmers into such an attempt: writing the program will take more effort initially, but once the program is complete, it will take over the routine tasks, leaving the programmer free to do something else. |
However, writing a program often turns out to be not that simple: programs can have defects, and certain functionalities can be hard to implement. Because of this, programmers usually spend more time than projected to finish a program. As time goes on, the desire to see it finished can consume the programmer's effort and attention, with the menial tasks left undone. | However, writing a program often turns out to be not that simple: programs can have defects, and certain functionalities can be hard to implement. Because of this, programmers usually spend more time than projected to finish a program. As time goes on, the desire to see it finished can consume the programmer's effort and attention, with the menial tasks left undone. | ||
− | The title text is a play on the word "automating." While "auto-" is indeed a prefix that means "self," the root word "mat," from | + | The title text is a play on the word "automating." While "auto-" is indeed a prefix that means "self," the root word "mat," from Greek, in fact refers to "moving" or "acting," so "automate" effectively means "self-moving." However, the title text uses a double entendre of the word "mating" (of Germanic origin, meaning [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mate#Etymology_1 "messmate"]), the definitions of which include "to copulate," or, in slang, "to screw," which itself has the double meaning of giving someone a hard time. This rendition of "automating" translates to self-screwing (giving yourself a hard time), which, according to this comic, happens when one attempts to automate a process. |
− | See also [[974: The General Problem]] and [[1205: Is It Worth the Time? | + | See also [[974: The General Problem]] and [[1205: Is It Worth the Time?]]. |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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