Kathy Sierra
Encyclopedia
Kathy Sierra is a programming instructor and game developer
.
She is the co-creator of the Head First series of books
on technical (primarily computer) topics, 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.
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.
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.
in San Diego due to threatening blog posts and emails, including death threats. One blog post included an image of Sierra next to a noose. She 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."
The harassment increased after the threats were reported in the news: a false account of her career was posted online, along with her address and Social Security number.
The issue triggered public discussion on the concept of 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. One of the larger issues Scoble felt was highlighted by the incident was online hostility to women: "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."
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
.
She is the co-creator of the Head First series of books
Head First (book series)
Head First is a series of introductory instructional books to many topics, published by O'Reilly Media. It stresses an unorthodox, visually intensive, reader-involving combination of puzzles, jokes, nonstandard design and layout, and an engaging, conversational style to immerse the reader in a...
on technical (primarily computer) topics, 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
Jolt Awards
The Jolt Awards are awards in the software industry.Since 1990, the Dr. Dobb's Jolt Product Excellence Awards have been presented annually to showcase products that have "jolted" the industry with their significance and made the task of creating software faster, easier, and more efficient.Jolt Cola...
, winning in 2005 for Head First Design Patterns, and were recognized on Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
'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
Cognitive science
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on how information is processed , represented, and transformed in behaviour, nervous system or machine...
was motivated by her epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
, a condition for which she takes anti-seizure medication. "My interest in the brain began when I had my first grand mal seizure
Seizure
An epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
at the age of four," she wrote on her personal weblog.
She was the lead programmer on the computer games Terratopia
TerraTopia
TerraTopia was a series of children's books produced by The Nature Company in the early 1990s and eventually spun off into other products, most notably an adventure game for computers.- TerraTopia books :...
, 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
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
, teaching Java instructors how to introduce new Java technologies and developing certification exams. In 1998, she founded the Java programmer's online community JavaRanch.
Controversy
In March 2007, Sierra abruptly canceled her appearance at the O'Reilly ETech conferenceEmerging Technology Conference
The O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference is O'Reilly Media's premier conference about the new technologies that are on the O'Reilly Radar. O'Reilly defines its core business not as books, conferences, or online publishing, though it does all three, but as "changing the world by spreading the...
in San Diego due to threatening blog posts and emails, including death threats. One blog post included an image of Sierra next to a noose. She 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."
The harassment increased after the threats were reported in the news: a false account of her career was posted online, along with her address and Social Security number.
The issue triggered public discussion on the concept of a bloggers' code of conduct. Some bloggers, including Robert Scoble
Robert Scoble
Robert Scoble is an American blogger, technical evangelist, and author. Scoble is best known for his blog, Scobleizer, which came to prominence during his tenure as a technology evangelist at Microsoft. He is married to Maryam Ghaemmaghami Scoble. He has three children; one from a previous...
, author of the technology blog Scobleizer, temporarily suspended their blogs in a show of support for Sierra. One of the larger issues Scoble felt was highlighted by the incident was online hostility to women: "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."
External links
- Sierra's Creating Passionate Users weblog
- The Java programmer's community JavaRanch
- Kathy Sierra interview at The Web 2.0 Show - Hosted by Adam Stacoviak and Josh Owens