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Comment on Ask HN: Is “learn to code” now “learn to drive a big rig”?parent

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More and more software does not necessarily require more and more developers to write it.

It has so far. We might have expected the massive gains in developer productivity over the last 70 years to have resulted in the demand for new developers slowing down at some point, but it hasn't. In a very typical way, more supply just gets eaten up by more demand - if at any point we can afford to have fewer developers, we'll just end up writing even more software with the excess capacity.

It's hard to imagine a point of diminishing returns on software, since it's so useful in basically every walk of life.

It has so far. We might have expected the massive gains in developer productivity over the last 70 years to have resulted in the demand for new developers slowing down at some point, but it hasn't.

Recently there has been an explosive transformation from software as a user and productivity focused industry into an adtech one, which has increased demand temporarily.

In a very typical way, more supply just gets eaten up by more demand

Sure, but increasing supply also means decreasing price by that same model. Decreasing price means less money for developers, meaning less people are incentivized to become developers, leading to equilibrium. Of course, that's a very simplistic model.

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