
A Tolerance for Uncertainty, a Jug of Wine, and Thou

WOW approached Mary Shaw after her keynote address on Thursday and asked some personal questions—
“What temperamental characteristics are required of a good software architecture researcher?  Can someone be a good researcher and a good practitioner at the same time, or do these aspirations require two different personality types?”
Shaw responded, “The Redwine/Riddle Maturation Model that I presented in my address provides a good framework for answering this question.  To be a good researcher at the left end of the diagram requires a thirst for knowledge and a tolerance for uncertainty that exceed the desire for financial reward.  But research and practice are not mutually exclusive—there are many types of researchers, just as there are many types of practitioners.  For example, many researchers have a thirst to put the results of their work into practice.  These researchers gravitate to the middle section of the diagram, where research and practice meet.  Even those working in the left portion of the diagram put their ideas into practice in the form of prototypes.  So in the end, there’s no need for a hard gap between research and practice.”
— John M. Linebarger

