Category Archives: History

Episode 106

In the previous episode, we introduced the idea of generations from the social science perspective. Generations were shaped by certain events and shifts in technology and society. We explored Strauss-Howe theory of repeating cycles through history and dived deeper into characteristics of the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers and the X Generation. We have met some famous people representing those generations that made an impact on the shape of the software industry from the business and science perspectives alike. 

Today we will continue our journey through generations, starting with a closer look at Millennials, followed by Generation Z and Generation Alpha. We will also explore a bit of related anthropology, and talk about reverse mentoring as well as the challenges and opportunities of generational diversity.

The Millennials

Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996, which makes them 27 to 42 years old now. Strauss and Howe describe them as members of the Hero or Civic generation – entering childhood during a time of individual pragmatism, self-reliance and laissez-faire and entering adulthood during a crisis. Millennials saw live coverage of the 9/11 attacks that started the war on terror, rising environmental issues and the 2008 financial crisis. But most importantly, they were the first global generation and the Read the rest of this entry »

Episode 105

In the previous two episodes, we have been exploring the world of individual differences and types of personality and dived deeper into one of many ways to categorize those types. It’s an interesting and helpful exercise as long as we keep in mind that everyone is different and requires an individual approach. Our personality depends strongly on the genetic lottery and our environment, especially during childhood and youth. Another interesting device we can use to better describe and understand people around us is the notion of the generation or demographic cohort they belong to. Age is just a number as they say, but aren’t developers ultimately the ones dealing with numbers after all? Today we will look at various aspects of several different generations we interact with, check what events and experiences shaped them, explore what might be particularly important to them and look for influential examples in the tech industry.

Generations conflict. Age gap. This is a really old topic. For centuries and millennia, there was a clash between parents and children, old and young, wisdom and experience, order vs curiosity, energy, rebellion and all that stuff. You can find papers on that dating back to antiquity. There is an ample pool of work about differences, but there is also an array of publications saying that it’s all bullshit and hurtful stereotypes. That you can’t look at a person through the lens of age group, put a label and just act according to it. So, how is it in the end? As usual, it’s somewhere in the middle. Generational differences do exist, but they are weak compared to Read the rest of this entry »