To anyone who is not a programmer, programming is seen as a dry
activity, comparable to filling out a tax form or applying for a
visa. Fundamentally, it is typing after all, and it is
typing code, which, compared to words, is not
alive. Code cannot express human longing, cannot express
hope and passion, does not have the vocabulary for pain, remorse
and loss (unless you consider garbage collection a subset of loss).
Of course, this is comparing apples with oranges. Code has...