Programmers’ Day is celebrated on the 256th day of each year. 256 is the number of distinct values that can be represented by an eight-bit byte. Usually, the 256th day is August 13th (except for leap year). But this year it is also Friday the 13th! What could go wrong, right?
Since Friday the 13th is a common day for scary accidents, let’s imagine what would happen if all programmers would disappear this Friday.
Not much at first
To be honest, people wouldn’t notice the disappearance for quite some time. Most of the systems would work on their own for a while. Initially, problems would begin after first bugs or power outages. Programmers deal with bugs and help systems to get back on track after something happens. And without them, systems would become unstable one by one.
The First Ones Uh-Oh’s
The first drawbacks would come up from your phone. The phone itself would still work. But without proper maintenance from programmers, most apps would stop working pretty soon. Forget the Uber and better check the local taxi phone number. E-banking services would stick, so get your cash before it’s too late. And if you feel like sharing that cute pic of your puppy, you should print it first.
Not all problems would be related to your phone. Programmers take care of many daily objects around us. Modern elevators would stop working. So every day would be a leg day with all those stairs. Feels good when your smart coffee maker can prepare your coffee. But without programmers, it’s not that smart anymore. With programmers gone, even your smartwatch is just a watch.
Innovations are lost
You might be still dreaming about that Marty McFly’s hoverboard. But this dream is over without programmers. There are a lot of promising innovations, but they still need some finishing touches. And with no programmers to be found, all those self-driving cars and flying skateboards are over.
Not only innovations would be at risk to be lost. A lot of information about everything we know has been digitized and put online. Programmers who work at hosting provider Hostinger suggest, that without them most websites would become unavailable over time. So all information that was kept online, would be unavailable too. When there is no Wikipedia left, you should buy an encyclopedia or two just in case.
Wait, that was also programmed?
Without programmers, it wouldn’t be just uncomfortable, it would also be quite expensive. How do you like those colorful dresses and fancy patterned suits? Well, they would become extremely expensive since, without the help of programmers, patterned textiles should be done by hand. The same goes for kitchen tiles, cozy carpets, cute coffee cups. It would be a luxury to live in style.
In the long run
Some problems would become visible only over time. For example, traffic lights are being programmed. Without programmers they would never become more efficient than they are now. In places with growing populations, this would mean way more traffic jams. Once cities have grown, forget your Google maps. They might still show you directions for the old roads, but if there are any renewals, you are lost.
All those examples are just the tip of an iceberg. It is possible, that If
programmers would disappear, it would affect our lives in unthinkable ways. But luckily it is not the
case. So this Friday is a perfect day to thank all the programmers for the
easier life they gave us.