The "dubious value" argument is a bit crap. I work in porn for one of my clients. That's of pretty dubious value as well. Is it of less dubious value to work in a hospital? What about a car manufacterer? Or the tobacco industry?
The only relevant values are 1) what the industry is willing to pay you and 2) whether you enjoy it. Anything else is just bullshit. If you won't enjoy a job in HFT because you think it's of dubious value, then don't get one.
There are plenty of things wrong with this HFT madness, but the programmers are not the problem, so there's really no point in questioning their value [or as the slashdot crowd is doing, blaming them for all sorts of crap].
The only relevant values are 1) what the industry is willing to pay you and 2) whether you enjoy it. Anything else is just bullshit. If you won't enjoy a job in HFT because you think it's of dubious value, then don't get one.
There are plenty of things wrong with this HFT madness, but the programmers are not the problem, so there's really no point in questioning their value [or as the slashdot crowd is doing, blaming them for all sorts of crap].