Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World by Clive Thompson

In his book Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World, journalist Clive Thompson dives deep into how coding has transformed how our world works, and how its burgeoning culture is forging connections between tech professionals like never before. Thompson explores how coding has gone from being a specialized skill to the linchpin of modern innovation, and covers how coding is growing in importance and transforming our society.

Thompson begins by delving into the concept of a “tribe”, linking it to the exact same concept in anthropology, where a tribe is a community of people who have something in common – in this case, coding. He unpacks the world of coding and what that means for our society, both on a theoretical and actual level, such as tech shows and conferences that are bringing together coders from all over the world. This means that even if you don't know a programmer on the other side of the world, you still have some common understanding of their coding practices and can join in their conversations.

Thompson then moves on to discuss how coding includes a number of different practices, from coding and designing websites to creating algorithms and machine learning. He explains how this work necessitates a highly technical knowledge and skill set, one that requires an intense problem solving mentality, and how this can help shape tech professionals into a new type of global community.

Next, Thompson examines the cultural implications of coding and how it is creating a new crop of jobs that have become attractive to many. He also looks at the ways coding has opened up career pathways to previously underemployed individuals and has allowed people of all ages and backgrounds to break into tech roles.

Finally, he looks at why coding is becoming increasingly important and how it is contributing to the globalization of the internet. Thompson notes that the larger and more widespread the use of coding, the more the world is drawing together. He looks at how coding can help build bridges between cultures, decrease inequalities and even reduce poverty.

Ultimately, in Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World, Clive Thompson demonstrates how coding is a crucial part of modern society, and how it is helping to bring people together while revolutionizing our lives. By exploring the culture of coding, Thompson highlights the importance of this new tribe and how it is helping to shape the world.