What does it mean to be a “good programmer?” Emerging fields like digital humanities and software studies add nuance to the field of computational thinking. Aesthetic programming appreciates both “technical skill” and critical implications of software. As a discipline, it appreciates formal qualities of code while creating space for “imaginaries of code” (material conditions of programming practice, the non-human agency of code itself, & more).
Moreover, aesthetic programming positions itself as a means to question existing technological paradigms (systems of power are implicitly hinted at in naming of attributes, binary logic, hierarchies). It attributes programming to have a role in the production of culture - beyond just it’s functional role in society.
“Aesthetic programming in this sense is considered as a practice to build things, and make worlds, but also produce immanent critique drawing upon computer science, art, and cultural theory.” - Winnie Soon and Geoff Cox
Source: Aesthetic Programming by Winnie Soon and Geoff Cox