Ask HN: Does anyone dream of code? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone dream of code?

#91

Post by 40acres » Wed, Feb 08, 2017, 4:33 PM UTC

I studied for an interview with Google late last year. I did a lot of algorithm and data structure exercises along with system design work. The study was intense for me, I spent about 3 hours a day working on problems in CLRS for about 5 weeks. I would dream of algorithms a few times a week and think about problems constantly.

Unfortunately I didn't get the job but it was really interesting to experience how my mind operated when a large chunk of my attention was consistently focused on complex topics.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone dream of code?

#92

Post by jcahill84 » Wed, Feb 08, 2017, 4:34 PM UTC

Absolutely. It's hard to turn your mind off when you're thinking about something complex and rewarding. Some recent study I read said we sleep to forget, so maybe this is your mind's way of making sure you don't forget the progress you've made on whatever particular thing you're working on.

I've found that watching some boring TV or having a drink (alcohol) before bed helps.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone dream of code?

#93

Post by amyjess » Wed, Feb 08, 2017, 4:35 PM UTC

This sounds like it's related to the Tetris Effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris_effect

I've experienced the same thing.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone dream of code?

#94

Post by smilesnd » Wed, Feb 08, 2017, 4:38 PM UTC

Only thing causing me to lose sleep is trying figure out how to turn code into cash.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone dream of code?

#95

Post by burkaman » Wed, Feb 08, 2017, 4:45 PM UTC

jccc wrote: post #69

smnscu wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of programmers I respect like to work on printed out code, and it's something I enjoy as well. Furthermore I'd love if we could work completely offline, with pen and paper.

More coders ought to try weaning themselves off of syntax highlighting and inverting their terminal colors to dark on light, document-writing style. If you don't need the training wheels and you're not a hacker in a movie, I think you'll discover over time that it is a sweet sweet liberation to be free from the ball and chain of syntax.

I could not disagree more. I often have to write without syntax highlighting at work, and there are zero positives and many significant negatives. It's not there as "training wheels" or to look pretty, it's there to help you avoid trivial mistakes and easily navigate through the code. There was discussion here recently about why we still edit code as text rather than as a tree, and syntax highlighting helps bridge that gap slightly, so you can think of the code as a tree rather than a long series of meaningful letters.

Seriously, have you tried this for more than a few minutes? I've been doing it for a year and a half and I've never seen any benefit. You're only "free from the ball and chain of syntax" until you try to run the code, when you realize the syntax is still there, and you're only "free" from being able to clearly see it.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone dream of code?

#96

Post by coldcode » Wed, Feb 08, 2017, 4:47 PM UTC

Last night I dreamt about having to work in a programming environment where objects appears horizontally and operations appeared vertically like a timeline. On second thought it was more of a nightmare.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone dream of code?

#97

Post by jrumbut » Wed, Feb 08, 2017, 4:47 PM UTC

nstart wrote: post #81

Yep. Not so much the act of coding but weird abstract concepts around code. To the point where once when I was working with Chrome and Firefox extensions and trying to get notifications to work just right, I woke up from deep sleep, and in a daze started shaking my wife saying that the notification were attacking us because I had made an error in a loop (she related this to me the next morning. I couldn't remember it…

This reminded me of a dream I used to have of getting into the car, opening up the Chrome developer tools, and using Javascript to drive.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone dream of code?

#98

Post by _agdistis » Wed, Feb 08, 2017, 4:57 PM UTC

I have plenty of dreams about problems I'm working on. I usually end up dreaming of a way to solve them too.

Though I did have this one dream where I was able to open up a virtual console next to anyone I saw and could program them to do whatever I felt like. I could do this with just random objects too, not just people. That'd be an interesting game idea now that I think about it.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone dream of code?

#99

Post by Lordarminius » Wed, Feb 08, 2017, 5:15 PM UTC

jrumbut wrote: post #97

nstart wrote: post #81

Yep. Not so much the act of coding but weird abstract concepts around code. To the point where once when I was working with Chrome and Firefox extensions and trying to get notifications to work just right, I woke up from deep sleep, and in a daze started shaking my wife saying that the notification were attacking us because I had made an error in a loop (she related this to me the next morning. I couldn't remember it…

This reminded me of a dream I used to have of getting into the car, opening up the Chrome developer tools, and using Javascript to drive.

> This reminded me of a dream I used to have of getting into the car, opening up the Chrome developer tools, and using Javascript to drive.

An aside.

Reading some of the hilarious comments here I am inclined to think they could be compiled into a bestselling nerd comic

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone dream of code?

#100

Post by lightblade » Wed, Feb 08, 2017, 5:22 PM UTC

Yup. This happens if I was coding right before bed with a problem not solved yet. Most of the time the dream was about me typing random things into the screen that doesn't make any sense.