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Ask HN: Son is major in CS, but doesn't code. Red flag?

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Re: Ask HN: Son is major in CS, but doesn't code. Red flag?

#71

Post by cweagans »

poulpy123 wrote: post #70
madrox wrote: post #19

There's a lot here to unpack, but I don't believe this is a red flag. CS is not a "gimme" major. If he's continuing to pursue it and the college isn't weeding him out, then he's clearly doing alright and has enough enthusiasm for the major. Let him continue. On a more personal note, I don't believe this is any of your business. Your son is a grown adult. Perhaps he's getting a degree on your dime, but he needs to mak…

I disagree with you on the general but agree on the specific here. I think parents need to be reasonably involved with their children even when they are students, but here the child seems to do well so there is no reason to worry

> I think parents need to be reasonably involved with their children even when they are students, but here the child seems to do well so there is no reason to worry

OP is talking about a full grown adult. Not a child.

Re: Ask HN: Son is major in CS, but doesn't code. Red flag?

#72

Post by anonreeeeplor »

I have an in-law who is the goofy, super lazy kid. Can’t be bothered to do anything. We sent him to school for like 1 semester and he didn’t go to class and just screwed around. His SAT scores off the charts. He just sort of codes and is a genius and doesn’t give a crap or have super crazy aspirations or ambitions.

It drove me insane. Zomg your wasted potential!

Honestly coding really sucks. Like I don’t know why anyone celebrates it. You barely get to do it in big companies, where you are sort of stitching a bunch of crap together.

On the flip side, the engineers I know who became super prolific were all ultra creative. Many have multiple creative hobbies while also being top open source contributors.

The most prolific open source developers I know have tons of random interests. The weirder ones, who like doing things like curing weird meat in their fridge and brewing weird alcohol drinks in their bath tubs turned out to be the best.

So I don’t know.

It’s actually the case where if you told me he sort of does code and has extremely exotic and strange hobbies, then you might have a super star.

Programming to me didn’t make sense until I was immersed in a context where it was useful.

I didn’t feel the urge to program until I was working on things where protramming helped me go faster.

No amount of yelling would have made me into coding in college because there was no use for it.

If he goes to work and encounters situations where code helps him go faster he may get into it.

In college - coding just often may not make sense or feel a relevant tool.

So idk.

If he is getting broad exposure to a lot of technology then that is great. Couldn’t tell you.

Re: Ask HN: Son is major in CS, but doesn't code. Red flag?

#73

Post by jhanschoo »

cweagans wrote: post #71
poulpy123 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree with you on the general but agree on the specific here. I think parents need to be reasonably involved with their children even when they are students, but here the child seems to do well so there is no reason to worry

> I think parents need to be reasonably involved with their children even when they are students, but here the child seems to do well so there is no reason to worry OP is talking about a full grown adult. Not a child.

Indeed, the adult child of the parent. The word child in English can refer to a very young person, but also commonly refers to the progeny of a person, as in the comment you were responding to, where child was used in reference to the parent that was also referred to in the comment.

Re: Ask HN: Son is major in CS, but doesn't code. Red flag?

#74

Post by steve_adams_86 »

anonreeeeplor wrote: post #72

I have an in-law who is the goofy, super lazy kid. Can’t be bothered to do anything. We sent him to school for like 1 semester and he didn’t go to class and just screwed around. His SAT scores off the charts. He just sort of codes and is a genius and doesn’t give a crap or have super crazy aspirations or ambitions. It drove me insane. Zomg your wasted potential! Honestly coding really sucks. Like I don’t know why any…

I’m not about to claim I’m particularly good at programming, but you absolutely nailed why I like it and, in a sense, why I can endure something that would otherwise be excruciatingly boring.

I have a million things I want to do and programming can help me do them faster or better. Or it can help me explore different aspects of ideas in novel ways. I can generate art, automate a hydroponic garden, point my telescope at planets and stars automatically, program a fermenting chamber, make games, visualize data in interesting ways, and generally enrich my life.

The fact that I can do it well professionally is mostly a byproduct of using it to explore my hobbies and interests. The worst thing that can happen to me is work which doesn’t further personal interests in some way or another. Fortunately I can be creative about finding ways in which solving arbitrary problems can be interesting in other contexts where I might want to apply what I learn some day, and I can stave off potential burn out here and there.

But yes, I do a lot of stuff. Too many projects at any given time. The fact that I can program is an afterthought, and although I like it, it’s a means to an end and not the other way around.

Re: Ask HN: Son is major in CS, but doesn't code. Red flag?

#75

Post by nickm12 »

For what it's worth, this is a legitimate question to ask and I don't think it means you are a weird, overbearing, helicopter parent for asking it. It's what you would do with the advice that would make you one of those.

As for the answer, I would agree with the others that this is certainly not a "red flag", you can be a successful programmer without being a hobbyist programmer, and you can build a non-programming career on a CS degree. That said, I do find it unusual for a CS undergrad to have no interest in programming outside of coursework. It can be hard to distinguish between "no interest" and "interested in other things" though. It's worth understanding more, but if he's doing well in his classes he very likely knows what he's doing.

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