Kathy Sierra
Kathy Sierra (née Dorris) (born June 19, 1957, Fresno, California) is a programming instructor and game developer.
Sierra is the co-creator of the Head First series of books on computer programming, along with her partner, Bert Bates. The series, which began with Head First Java in 2003, takes an unorthodox, visually intensive approach to the process of teaching programming. Sierra's books in the series have received three nominations for Product Excellence Jolt Awards, winning in 2005 for Head First Design Patterns, and were recognized on Amazon.com's yearly top 10 list for computer books from 2003 to 2005.
Education and career
Sierra attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a major in exercise physiology and spent 10 years working in the fitness industry. She changed careers after attending programming classes at UCLA, later returning to teach a course on "new media interactivity" for UCLA Extension.
She says that her interest in cognitive science was motivated by her epilepsy, a condition for which she takes anti-seizure medication. "My interest in the brain began when I had my first grand mal seizure at the age of four," she wrote on her personal weblog.[1]
She was the lead programmer on the computer games Terratopia, a 1996 children's adventure game released by Virgin Sound & Vision, and All Dogs Go to Heaven, a film-based game released as a free cereal premium by MGM. She also worked as a master trainer for Sun Microsystems, teaching Java instructors how to introduce new Java technologies and developing certification exams. In 1998, she founded the Java programmer's online community JavaRanch.
Harassment
In March 2007, Sierra abruptly cancelled her appearance at the O'Reilly ETech conference in San Diego because of threatening and sexually graphic blog posts, including death threats[2] which made her afraid to leave her house.[3] One post including an image of Sierra next to a noose.[2] Sierra wrote: "I have cancelled all speaking engagements. I am afraid to leave my yard, I will never feel the same. I will never be the same."[2]
The issue triggered a discussion on the need for a bloggers' code of conduct. Some bloggers, including Robert Scoble, author of the technology blog Scobleizer, temporarily suspended their blogs in a show of support for Sierra,[2] and on April 2, 2007, Sierra and Chris Locke released a joint statement.[4]
One of the issues Sierra and Scoble feel the incident raises is the way women are treated online. "It's this culture of attacking women that has especially got to stop," Scoble said " ...[W]henever I post a video of a female technologist there invariably are snide remarks about body parts and other things that simply wouldn't happen if the interviewee were a man."[2]
Sierra wrote on her blog: "If you want to do something about it, do not tolerate the kind of abuse that includes threats or even suggestions of violence (especially sexual violence). Do not put these people on a pedestal. Do not let them get away with calling this 'social commentary,' 'protected speech,' or simply 'criticism'."[2]
Bibliography
- Head First Java (O'Reilly Publishing, 2005) ISBN 0-596-00920-8
- SCJP Sun Certified Programmer for Java 5 Study Guide (McGraw-Hill Osborne, 2005) ISBN 0-07-225360-6
- Head First Design Patterns (O'Reilly Publishing, 2004) ISBN 0-596-00712-4
- Head First Servlets and JSP (O'Reilly Publishing, 2004) ISBN 0-596-00540-7
- Head First EJB (O'Reilly Publishing, 2003) ISBN 0-596-00571-7
- Sun Certified Programmer & Developer for Java 2 Study Guide (McGraw-Hill Osborne, 2002) ISBN 0-07-222684-6
- Mike Meyers' Java 2 Certification Passport (McGraw-Hill Osborne, 2001) ISBN 0-07-219366-2
References
- ^ Kathy Sierra (2005-04-11). "Who's in charge--you or your brain?". Creating Passionate Users. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
- ^ a b c d e f "Blog death threats spark debate publisher", BBC News, March 27, 2007.
- ^ Mitch Wagner (2007-03-26). "Death Threats Force Designer To Cancel ETech Conference Appearance". Information Week. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
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