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Survey Results

Which of these do you feel you could confidently explain to a non-programmer?

Survey period: 11 Sep 2022 to 18 Sep 2022

"Confidently explain" meaning "explain well enough that they get the gist and could, more or less, explain it to someone else to your satisfaction"

OptionVotes% 
The journey from source code, through compiler/interpreter to machine execution36257.92
How data is stored on a HDD or SSD28946.24
How RAM works27944.64
How a garbage collector works24338.88
How a buffer overrun can lead to arbitrary code execution20733.12
CPU Branch prediction9715.52
What is Quantum computing447.04
How AI works11718.72
How a database stores and organises data (any database)30949.44
I don't feel I could explain any of the above13120.96
Respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer; totals may not add up to 100%



 
GeneralForced, I was; Pin
Eddy Vluggen16-Sep-22 13:03
professionalEddy Vluggen16-Sep-22 13:03 
GeneralRe: Forced, I was; Pin
trønderen17-Sep-22 7:08
trønderen17-Sep-22 7:08 
Generalhaving taught and mentored for 20+ years Pin
rnbergren14-Sep-22 7:24
rnbergren14-Sep-22 7:24 
GeneralHow to explain management, Agile, why there are so many bugs... Pin
Marc Clifton14-Sep-22 1:18
mvaMarc Clifton14-Sep-22 1:18 
GeneralCache metaphor I used at an IBM server class PinPopular
Rich Shealer13-Sep-22 3:39
Rich Shealer13-Sep-22 3:39 
GeneralRe: Cache metaphor I used at an IBM server class Pin
Gaston Verelst14-Sep-22 1:53
Gaston Verelst14-Sep-22 1:53 
General2006 computers, yeah, some of these, 2022 😭 Pin
maze312-Sep-22 23:46
professionalmaze312-Sep-22 23:46 
GeneralI've had to explain several of these over the years Pin
obermd12-Sep-22 5:42
obermd12-Sep-22 5:42 
GeneralIt's not too difficult, provided you try to explain it in terms that they understand from the real world... Pin
OriginalGriff12-Sep-22 5:35
mveOriginalGriff12-Sep-22 5:35 
For example:
The journey from source code, through compiler/interpreter to machine execution

I'm a high level chef: I tell you (a sous chef) to make me a Black Forest Gateaux.
You grab a recipe book, and translate my request into a set of ingredients, and a set of instructions which you hand to a Commis Chef who does the work.
He hands the cake to you, you hand it to me.

"Make me a Black Forest Gateaux" is a source code instruction, which you compile into data (ingredients) and machine code (instructions) which the poor beleaguered Commi (processor) can understand and execute.

Keep an eye open for them glazing over, and be prepared to back-up and explain differently at any time!

That's why when we get a confused question which shows they don;t understand objects or instances I start with cars - because everybody knows about "my car" / "your car" / "this car" / "that car" and that they are all separate instances of the generic class - even if at the moment they don't think that way.

The difficult ones are "quantum computing" because anything that needs a set of spanners that small is going to be difficult for anyone to understand; and "AI" because while it's pretty artificial, it's not actually intelligent, and should really be called "heuristic pattern processing" instead ... Laugh | :laugh:
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

GeneralRe: It's not too difficult, provided you try to explain it in terms that they understand from the real world... Pin
Eddy Vluggen12-Sep-22 9:39
professionalEddy Vluggen12-Sep-22 9:39 
GeneralTwo important factors Pin
Fueled By Decaff12-Sep-22 3:43
Fueled By Decaff12-Sep-22 3:43 
GeneralRe: Two important factors Pin
alan@1st-straw.com13-Sep-22 4:00
alan@1st-straw.com13-Sep-22 4:00 
GeneralOnly one thing Pin
Amarnath S12-Sep-22 2:18
professionalAmarnath S12-Sep-22 2:18 
GeneralRam vs HDD Pin
Ron Anders12-Sep-22 2:14
Ron Anders12-Sep-22 2:14 
GeneralRe: Ram vs HDD Pin
OriginalGriff12-Sep-22 5:19
mveOriginalGriff12-Sep-22 5:19 
GeneralDo I have to explain it correctly? Pin
musefan12-Sep-22 1:52
musefan12-Sep-22 1:52 
GeneralNo way I could explain any of these Pin
Nemanja Trifunovic12-Sep-22 1:33
Nemanja Trifunovic12-Sep-22 1:33 
GeneralRe: No way I could explain any of these Pin
Greg Utas12-Sep-22 2:10
professionalGreg Utas12-Sep-22 2:10 
GeneralRe: No way I could explain any of these Pin
BryanFazekas13-Sep-22 1:31
BryanFazekas13-Sep-22 1:31 
GeneralKind of depends... Pin
Sander Rossel11-Sep-22 21:17
professionalSander Rossel11-Sep-22 21:17 
GeneralRe: Kind of depends... Pin
BryanFazekas13-Sep-22 1:40
BryanFazekas13-Sep-22 1:40 

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