Editing Magnifica Humanitas: A Plain-Language Overview (section)

=== Practical Wisdom asks what the technology is for ===

The first of the proposed Perl virtues, '''Practical Wisdom or Prudence''', has a particularly strong connection with the technological concerns raised in ''Magnifica Humanitas''.

Prudence does not simply ask:

<blockquote>
“Can this be built?”
</blockquote>

It also asks:

<blockquote>
“Should it be built this way, for these people, under these conditions, toward this end?”
</blockquote>

This is especially important in software because programmers routinely encounter technically interesting possibilities which may not deserve implementation.

A programmer can automate a process that ought to remain under human judgment.

A business can collect data merely because collection is technically possible.

A developer can introduce an artificial-intelligence system into a workflow without asking whether doing so makes the people involved more capable or merely more dependent.

A maintainer can rewrite a stable system because the new design is intellectually appealing even though users need reliability more than novelty.

Practical Wisdom requires attention to the real problem, the real user, the likely consequences, and the actual good being pursued.

That is why the Virtuous Programmer Initiative treats judgment as more important than cleverness.