I don't know why others do it but I downplay my things because I genuinely think the said project is small and basic, @ben
's article Nothing in Software Development is Obvious describes my logic behind why I might sound as though I'm downplaying things.
If something is basic, it's basic! Employers should thing relatively, if a candidate says "that project is basic" if anything it shows that the candidate has worked in enough project that something which is not actually basic is basic for her.
Your article is spot on though (here again I was about to tell you how basic my comment is)
Claiming that something which is actually quite complex is actually "basic" in order to look better is a tactic that can easily backfire.
A project can be "simple", without being "basic". It can be a "straightforward illustration of XYZ", where XYZ is an interesting technique or pattern.
A project can be "basic" in that you used it to learn some "obvious" technique or pattern.
If it's genuinely simple but doesn't have anything of interest, and served no purpose, why are you wasting people's time with it? No, I'm not interested in why something is basic, I'm interested in what makes it interesting.
Claiming that something which is actually quite complex is actually "basic" in order to look better is a tactic that can easily backfire.
Yes lying usually backfires, but from the the point of view of the post it's clear that those of us that use this expression aren't thinking of tricking others. Nor do I believe it's to be hard on ourselves.
No, I'm not interested in why something is basic
No one is telling you why the project is basic. If I say "let me tell you how I made my basic project" or "how I made my own red jumper", no one is telling you why it's basic or why it's red. That's why I think my (and others) habit of saying "I did this basic thing" shouldn't be taken taken so seriously.
Miriam Margolyes an Will.I.Am were in a talk show. Whilst Will talks he uses "like" a lot, as in "he said this and I was like". And Miriam corrected him, told him why he should not use "like" - they were adorable together.
I strongly believe that we are dealing with the same thing here. When I say "I made this basic thing" the word basic is not important.
@johnlukeg
said "this can be extremely harmful if the person performing the self-deprecation doesn't recognize his or her own value". My point is, if I tweet "Here's a basic project on ...", If I thought it was worthless, would I tweet it? All of use are elbows deep in code, yet we do not tweet every truly worthless crap we might write. If I go to the trouble of creating and sharing something, if I consider it to be basic, I'm not at all thinking it's worthless. Maybe, I'm thinking it was quick, easier than I thought, with room for other features. None of these mean I'm worthless, if anything, if you want to read anything into this, it shows I have a lot more.
The post is correct, if nothing else, I hope those that might believe their work is worthless should read it. However, I do insist that it's just a way of speaking that means nothing. However, as I said in the first comment, if others want to find a meaning, they could equally go with "cool, if this is basic for Aurel then he must be good". In both cases the person is reading only what they want into the word "basic". But since both reading are equally wrong, this topic is a non-issue in my point of view.
I remember my first ever html site. If anyone said to me "ah that's basic" I would have punched* them in the face. I'm currently playing with graphQL, I'm not going to share anything "basic" anytime soon. So when I do say something's basic, it's a habit that's dictated by my experience in the topic.
The only reason why I will try my best to stop using the word basic is just because of @ben
's post (I referred to in the original comment) - not everyone is on the same page, so what I think is basic might not be for others. But never because of self-deprecation or anything like that.
*Am I trying to be funny or am I violent? Most likely none :)
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Great post!
Let me be devil's advocate just for fun!
I do this all the time
I don't know why others do it but I downplay my things because I genuinely think the said project is small and basic, @ben 's article Nothing in Software Development is Obvious describes my logic behind why I might sound as though I'm downplaying things.
If something is basic, it's basic! Employers should thing relatively, if a candidate says "that project is basic" if anything it shows that the candidate has worked in enough project that something which is not actually basic is basic for her.
Your article is spot on though (here again I was about to tell you how basic my comment is)
Ah... A few thoughts:
Claiming that something which is actually quite complex is actually "basic" in order to look better is a tactic that can easily backfire.
A project can be "simple", without being "basic". It can be a "straightforward illustration of XYZ", where XYZ is an interesting technique or pattern.
A project can be "basic" in that you used it to learn some "obvious" technique or pattern.
If it's genuinely simple but doesn't have anything of interest, and served no purpose, why are you wasting people's time with it? No, I'm not interested in why something is basic, I'm interested in what makes it interesting.
Yes lying usually backfires, but from the the point of view of the post it's clear that those of us that use this expression aren't thinking of tricking others. Nor do I believe it's to be hard on ourselves.
No one is telling you why the project is basic. If I say "let me tell you how I made my basic project" or "how I made my own red jumper", no one is telling you why it's basic or why it's red. That's why I think my (and others) habit of saying "I did this basic thing" shouldn't be taken taken so seriously.
Miriam Margolyes an Will.I.Am were in a talk show. Whilst Will talks he uses "like" a lot, as in "he said this and I was like". And Miriam corrected him, told him why he should not use "like" - they were adorable together.
I strongly believe that we are dealing with the same thing here. When I say "I made this basic thing" the word basic is not important.
@johnlukeg said "this can be extremely harmful if the person performing the self-deprecation doesn't recognize his or her own value". My point is, if I tweet "Here's a basic project on ...", If I thought it was worthless, would I tweet it? All of use are elbows deep in code, yet we do not tweet every truly worthless crap we might write. If I go to the trouble of creating and sharing something, if I consider it to be basic, I'm not at all thinking it's worthless. Maybe, I'm thinking it was quick, easier than I thought, with room for other features. None of these mean I'm worthless, if anything, if you want to read anything into this, it shows I have a lot more.
The post is correct, if nothing else, I hope those that might believe their work is worthless should read it. However, I do insist that it's just a way of speaking that means nothing. However, as I said in the first comment, if others want to find a meaning, they could equally go with "cool, if this is basic for Aurel then he must be good". In both cases the person is reading only what they want into the word "basic". But since both reading are equally wrong, this topic is a non-issue in my point of view.
I remember my first ever html site. If anyone said to me "ah that's basic" I would have punched* them in the face. I'm currently playing with graphQL, I'm not going to share anything "basic" anytime soon. So when I do say something's basic, it's a habit that's dictated by my experience in the topic.
The only reason why I will try my best to stop using the word basic is just because of @ben 's post (I referred to in the original comment) - not everyone is on the same page, so what I think is basic might not be for others. But never because of self-deprecation or anything like that.
*Am I trying to be funny or am I violent? Most likely none :)