May just be the way it is worded, but the spiritual section ruins this post for me. "...skills every programmer should have" being able to meditate can mean a lot of non-spiritual things. People are able to clear their head via hundreds of methods that have nothing to do with being spiritual. Even meditation I would not personally consider to having to be spiritual. But listening to music, taking walks, doing something to clear your mind from everything that is currently holding it back. This in itself is not spiritual. I agree, what it is, is an essential skill, one needed in life, not just in programming. We all have periods of losing focus. And being able to recover during these times, it's a valuable skill to have with any task. But I think using the title "every programmer" than attributing the way you personally get by is misleading.
Non-programming skills every programmer should have
31–40 of 49 posts
Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have
#32A lot of people seem to be offended by this article when I think all the author was trying to say is that opening yourself to other, non-programming related stuff simply helps you become a better programmer as a whole. I honestly don't think he's suggesting you should be a pro at all those other points, just have a fairly good knowledge of them. I personally find that, on top of the points mentioned in the article, a…
It's one thing to say that programmers (and everyone, really) should have a hobby outside of work. This is a laundry list of vague ideas - 'Startup' is not a skill - that the author insists every person who programs for a living should be interested in.
What exactly is 'looking beyond the code'? Can you give an example of a problem where two equally skilled programmers were faced with a problem, and one had an epiphany based on their experience last night at the extreme underwater basket weaving club?
Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have
#33I'm not fond of these "should" articles. I'd like to acknowledge the programming specialists out there and the 9-5 programmers. The "should" means that if you're not doing these things, then you're doing something wrong. (That's not even the connotation of "should", that's the literal meaning. ) > Also, it's good to have some management and leadership skills. It's good, but not everyone wants to be a leader, and if e…
> I'm not fond of these "should" articles. I'd like to acknowledge the programming specialists out there and the 9-5 programmers. The "should" means that if you're not doing these things, then you're doing something wrong. (That's not even the connotation of "should", that's the literal meaning.)
I would like a word -- and perhaps it exists already and it just eludes me at the moment -- which is a milder version of should. A word that means "Your life would probably be improved by doing these things, even though what you're doing now may also be good."
If we had such a word, it would make it easier to have "You should" conversations without people becoming offended. Our world may be great, but I think that a world with a word like that would be a little bit better.
Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd suggest that "spiritual skills" encompass an understanding that there are connections between ourselves and our surroundings that defy precise, scientific description. Whether that's a feeling of camaraderie with your teammates, or a sense that one's office is warm and inviting or cold and unpleasant, or an immediate response upon meeting someone for the first time that you can trust them implicitly--or that you…
None of what you describe is what I would categorize as "spiritual".
I can't shake the feeling that we could be having a much more fruitful conversation if we simply removed the word "spiritual" from it, and talked about the concepts themselves. Arguing over the definitions of words has got to be one of the most exhausting and futile acts in existence.
Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have
#35while i don't have a problem with anything here, particularly, these kinds of post (and we seem to get a lot) usually strike me as "a list of good things about me" or "why everyone should be like me". i'm not sure how you avoid that. perhaps it is up to the reader to piece together a more balanced view by reading several.
> these kinds of post (and we seem to get a lot) usually strike me as "a list of good things about me" or "why everyone should be like me". Yep... That's why the mysteriously named skill, "spiritual" may actually be quite important and why the OP should work on it a bit more. Beginners' minds don't go around dispensing advice. I think that touches lightly on the "social" as well...
> Beginners' minds don't go around dispensing advice.
Cool-sounding advice, I suppose. What sort of mind is yours?
Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
None of what you describe is what I would categorize as "spiritual".
I can't shake the feeling that we could be having a much more fruitful conversation if we simply removed the word "spiritual" from it, and talked about the concepts themselves. Arguing over the definitions of words has got to be one of the most exhausting and futile acts in existence.
That's kind of my point. Why label a section with a title that's bound to be controversial and confusing, only to include almost nothing relevant to that title?
Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have
#37I'm not fond of these "should" articles. I'd like to acknowledge the programming specialists out there and the 9-5 programmers. The "should" means that if you're not doing these things, then you're doing something wrong. (That's not even the connotation of "should", that's the literal meaning. ) > Also, it's good to have some management and leadership skills. It's good, but not everyone wants to be a leader, and if e…
> I'm not fond of these "should" articles. I'd like to acknowledge the programming specialists out there and the 9-5 programmers. The "should" means that if you're not doing these things, then you're doing something wrong. (That's not even the connotation of "should", that's the literal meaning.) I would like a word -- and perhaps it exists already and it just eludes me at the moment -- which is a milder version of s…
1) There's nothing wrong with using a phrase (like "Your life would probably ...") instead of a word. That's kind of what they're for?
2) What about "can"? It's not a drop-in replacement for "should", but it has a lot of what you're going for. "Non-programming skills every programmer _can_ have" is about aspiration not judgement, possibilities not failures.
Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
The "spiritual" word is often used in non-religious contexts to mean the mastery of the inner world. Meditation is often used as a way to take control of your thought processes (which are sometimes negative), so that's why it's often classified as a spiritual practice.
Huh, I don't think I've heard it used like that before, or didn't understand it that way in any case. "Spiritual" to me, being based on "sprit", always has connotations of external supernatural entities.
Etymologically, the word 'spirit' originally meant one's life force or 'breath'; its supernatural connotations came later.
Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have
#39I'm not really sold on these kind of self-help articles that tell you how to live, as if there is one way of being happy and fulfilled. Yes, a sense of fulfillment comes from those listed categories but it kind of cheapens the idea when you can point to a bunch of thin pop books on Amazon as the answer to life.
Re: Non-programming skills every programmer should have
#40I'm not fond of these "should" articles. I'd like to acknowledge the programming specialists out there and the 9-5 programmers. The "should" means that if you're not doing these things, then you're doing something wrong. (That's not even the connotation of "should", that's the literal meaning. ) > Also, it's good to have some management and leadership skills. It's good, but not everyone wants to be a leader, and if e…
Not a big fan of the article either, but I think there is some benefit to at least trying to develop some skills outside of your core skill set. This is not necessarily to get good at those skills, but to develop empathy for others who've decided to specialize in those skills.
For example, I've personally realized that management is not really my thing, but having done it for a while I understand better now where my ex-managers were coming from and feel that I'm now a better employee because of that. Same for design work, etc.
And frankly I wish other people did that too. Wouldn't it be great if your manager understood your explanation of why that "tiny" feature will actually take weeks, or the designer keeps potential code complexity in mind when designing something? I think this advice applies to everyone, not just programmers.