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Talking, Typing, Thinking: Software Is Not a Desk Job

daniel.fone.net.nz

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Re: Talking, Typing, Thinking: Software Is Not a Desk Job

#51

Post by wongarsu »

jheruty wrote: post #49
Osiris wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. I know people that spend hundreds on keyboards, for example. I also think the debates about vim vs IDEs falls into this same category. It's just a tool. I really don't type all that much as a percentage of my work day.

I've got a Kinesis Advantage II, so one of those several hundred dollar types. I know it's "just a tool", but I can't help but feel a connection to it, like people often feel for their vehicle. I think back to the things I built with it the same way one might reminisce about that one great road trip. Keyboards are the bridge between the physical and virtual realms. I understand the desire to have one that's truly you…

Considering that it lasts for years and you use it for hours each day, it's easy to justify $350. I spend a lot that much on things I've used a lot less

Re: Talking, Typing, Thinking: Software Is Not a Desk Job

#52

Post by plutonorm »

taneq wrote: post #34

I tend to do a lot of my problem solving laying awake in bed at night. Either I can't sleep or I wake up in the small hours of the night, and I'll chew on some problem that's been bugging me until I solve it and go back to sleep. This was part of what made me want to start my own company. I'm not doing my best work until I'm so immersed in a project that my brain's working on it round the clock in the background, and…

For me too. I'm far less effective when the problem isn't taking over my whole brain. And when I have two problems going on at once it causes large amounts of stress. So if I'm working on something that isn't aligned with my actual goals - then I have a mind that is constantly flip flopping between the task I'm supposed to be doing, my work, and the task I really want to do. So I've spent my working life intermittently working on the programming problem at hand and wandering off into 'thinking space' to work on the intellectual problem I'm actually interested in.

In those rare periods where I actually want to work on what I'm supposed to be working on - maybe a couple of times a year - my productivity literally triples.

Re: Talking, Typing, Thinking: Software Is Not a Desk Job

#53

Post by schwartzworld »

Osiris wrote: post #46
DominikD wrote: post #42

This text succinctly summarizes what I struggled to express to some of my colleagues. It doesn't offer a solution but it neatly highlights the problem. A lot of attention is being paid to things like keyboards, mice, software used to write code and I never understood that fetish. These are just tools, tools aren't the job. Pretty much every dev I know has a history with or knows of a manager who optimized metrics tha…

I agree. I know people that spend hundreds on keyboards, for example. I also think the debates about vim vs IDEs falls into this same category. It's just a tool. I really don't type all that much as a percentage of my work day.

I use a fully featured IDE precisely because it lets me spend LESS time at my desk.

Re: Talking, Typing, Thinking: Software Is Not a Desk Job

#54

Post by herodoturtle »

taneq wrote: post #34

I tend to do a lot of my problem solving laying awake in bed at night. Either I can't sleep or I wake up in the small hours of the night, and I'll chew on some problem that's been bugging me until I solve it and go back to sleep. This was part of what made me want to start my own company. I'm not doing my best work until I'm so immersed in a project that my brain's working on it round the clock in the background, and…

Precisely the same reason I started my company 15 years ago. That, and wanting to work from home. It was a different world back then.

Re: Talking, Typing, Thinking: Software Is Not a Desk Job

#55

Post by herodoturtle »

DominikD wrote: post #42

This text succinctly summarizes what I struggled to express to some of my colleagues. It doesn't offer a solution but it neatly highlights the problem. A lot of attention is being paid to things like keyboards, mice, software used to write code and I never understood that fetish. These are just tools, tools aren't the job. Pretty much every dev I know has a history with or knows of a manager who optimized metrics tha…

As someone who wholeheartedly agrees with your philosophy of focusing on the big picture, I'd like to add that being pedantic (passionate) about one's tools is not necessarily a bad thing - provided said obsession is not a hindrance to one's output (and indeed, their focus on the big picture).

Re: Talking, Typing, Thinking: Software Is Not a Desk Job

#56

Post by herodoturtle »

taneq wrote: post #33
nextlevelwizard wrote: post #29

There is no substance here at all. Making software is still very much a desk job and author only mentions "ergonomics of thinking" without giving any concrete ideas at all. If it is news to you that making software requires thinking then I am very worried what you have had delivered before this. As others have mentioned the reason why developers optimize for ergonomics of coding instead of thinking is because that is…

Grinding out web apps is a desk job. If you're lucky enough to have one of the software development jobs which involves pushing the boundaries, a lot more time is spent thinking, planning and problem solving than typing.

Bingo. It's like saying you want to be a painter, but then get stuck painting walls for a living. You're still painting, but it's not the same. Unless painting walls is your thing; that's cool too.

Re: Talking, Typing, Thinking: Software Is Not a Desk Job

#57

Post by herodoturtle »

jungletime wrote: post #39

My University library had a basement, with desks with side panels. This was the best place to study. Later had a desk under stairs in the basement, where I programmed. A very quiet place, with no distractions makes it easiest to focus. A notepad to write notes also helps. But I think not seeing the Sun, and hearing the Outside world, causes one to lose track of time, and space. And lets you focus more. Why rain works…

Well said. Balance is key. Deep work in a quiet, suitable lit, and well ventilated cave. With intermittent breaks in the vibrant outdoors surrounded by trees, hills, and seas.

Re: Talking, Typing, Thinking: Software Is Not a Desk Job

#58

Post by herodoturtle »

j4nt4b wrote: post #27
glial wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Go for a walk.

They didn't call it the peripatetic school for nothing. There are also cases of patients with speech aphasia who can speak while walking, but can't while at rest; it turns out that brain structures for speech and locomotion are interrelated.

Did those patients every try sprinting? Breakthroughs await.

Re: Talking, Typing, Thinking: Software Is Not a Desk Job

#59

Post by herodoturtle »

gen220 wrote: post #19
anonytrary wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My best thinking is done while my legs are in motion. Walking and pacing is the best. If I'm confined to a desk, my legs and arms start going crazy. Can't avoid shaking my leg.

For whatever weird reason, pacing on my toes with a spring in my step unlocks my "overdrive" thinking mode (having systematic, "hyperlinked" conversations on complex subjects). Fidgeting with my hands or something is similar, but not as conducive. It actually is a boon in lectures or physical presentations (people find the motions engaging), but it's usually distracting enough in problem-solving meetings with peers,…

Fascinating neurology. I achieve the same articulacy (having systematic, "hyperlinked" conversations on complex subjects) when I close my eyes; I suspect it frees up resources which are in turn devoted to verbal communication. But my Neurologist friends suggest the brain isn't wired this way - that these are two independent systems whose resources cannot be shared that way.

Regardless, this too lends itself well to Covid-induced remote meetings where video isn't a priority.

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