That's not really true. A better formulation is that there's no way to manage programming productivity cheaply and/or non-intrusively.
I agree that the bulk of X vs Y comparisons are emotive and subject to what Alan Kay calls the "pop culture" but that in no way demonstrates that measurement is out of reach. It's just in most contexts we don't care to do the work to measure it out of personal preference or economic reality.
I agree that the bulk of X vs Y comparisons are emotive and subject to what Alan Kay calls the "pop culture" but that in no way demonstrates that measurement is out of reach. It's just in most contexts we don't care to do the work to measure it out of personal preference or economic reality.