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The Bipolar Lisp Programmer

lambdassociates.org

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Re: The Bipolar Lisp Programmer

#3

Post by iopq »

It's not bipolar, I understand those are the symptoms of ADD. Bored with everything, very high threshold for enjoyment or interest, but getting quickly bored with that same thing.

Re: The Bipolar Lisp Programmer

#4

Post by moomin »

I wish people would stop throwing mental health diagnoses around. The article is mostly intelligent, but it bears no resemblance to any disorder. It's just a standard behaviour of the smart and bored.

Me, I was like that till 16, when I met a teacher with such enthusiasm for his subject matter it carried me all the way through university. (Modulo some hiccups.) He was enthusiastic about maths, so I ended up becoming a mathematician. I imagine if he'd been a chemist I'd have done that.

Re: The Bipolar Lisp Programmer

#5

Post by lexicalscope »

I'm not super fond of the assumption that someone is bipolar simply because of going in and out of frenetic periods of activity, that isn't really what bipolar disorder is. I have bipolar (II), so here's some things:

Since I only have bipolar II, I have never experienced "true" mania, but I can tell you that even hypo-mania is not what is described. Hypomania is more like having your throttle stuck on wide open and nothing you can do will make it stop. You just keep moving a mile a minute, even if you're exhausted. The thoughts just keep moving, faster and faster. You become impulsive. Have you ever bought 20 plants because you were sure it was a great idea then killed them when you became depressed? Bought $400 worth of sushi because, shit, it's a Tuesday? Those are some things that happen, out of the blue, and the thing that's maddening is that anything you do while you're manic is going to get fucked up as soon as you become depressed.

And the depression isn't just melancholia, at least usually, it's something far deeper, the _inability_ to do things. You can will yourself to have motivation to do something for hours, only to find yourself hardly able to do it. It isn't even really a sadness, or disillusionment, it's a fog, it feels like you can't even think straight.

As a programmer, it's a special hell, because it feels like my brain doesn't even work right. And while Lisp is great, it is no salve to that.

So no, this isn't the Bipolar Lisp Programmer, this is the Stereotypical Smart Bored Youth Programmer.

Re: The Bipolar Lisp Programmer

#6

Post by javert »

lexicalscope wrote: post #5

I'm not super fond of the assumption that someone is bipolar simply because of going in and out of frenetic periods of activity, that isn't really what bipolar disorder is. I have bipolar (II), so here's some things: Since I only have bipolar II, I have never experienced "true" mania, but I can tell you that even hypo-mania is not what is described. Hypomania is more like having your throttle stuck on wide open and n…

I find your description of bipolar to be interesting, so thanks.

It wasn't clear to me that the author actually meant "bipolar" in the medical sense. I think he meant something else, and it was just a convenient, but perhaps confusing, term.

Re: The Bipolar Lisp Programmer

#7

Post by waterhouse »

lexicalscope wrote: post #5

I'm not super fond of the assumption that someone is bipolar simply because of going in and out of frenetic periods of activity, that isn't really what bipolar disorder is. I have bipolar (II), so here's some things: Since I only have bipolar II, I have never experienced "true" mania, but I can tell you that even hypo-mania is not what is described. Hypomania is more like having your throttle stuck on wide open and n…

> Stereotypical Smart Bored Youth Programmer

See also Jamie Zawinski's "Cascade of Attention-Deficit Teenagers": http://www.jwz.org/doc/cadt.html

Re: The Bipolar Lisp Programmer

#8

Post by lexicalscope »

javert wrote: post #6
lexicalscope wrote: post #5

I'm not super fond of the assumption that someone is bipolar simply because of going in and out of frenetic periods of activity, that isn't really what bipolar disorder is. I have bipolar (II), so here's some things: Since I only have bipolar II, I have never experienced "true" mania, but I can tell you that even hypo-mania is not what is described. Hypomania is more like having your throttle stuck on wide open and n…

I find your description of bipolar to be interesting, so thanks. It wasn't clear to me that the author actually meant "bipolar" in the medical sense. I think he meant something else, and it was just a convenient, but perhaps confusing, term.

No worries, and I do get that, and I'm not furious about it or anything like that. I will say though, it's frustrating when you suffer from this condition to have it characterized in this way, as an adjective, in the same way I imagine it's frustrating for people that actually have Asperger's to hear that thrown around as much as it is now.

That said, I can deal with my frustration, what actually worries me is that a lot of people that don't have bipolar disorder will call themselves bipolar, and make people that actually do have these problems think it's normal and that they don't need treatment or help. It's hard enough to reach out for treatment without someone telling you or implying that "oh yeah, most people have that who are smart, you just need to figure out how to be less angsty!" If that makes sense.

Tl;dr: Generalizing in this way hurts people that need help, I was once one of those people, so I just want to educate people to try to avoid doing this.

Re: The Bipolar Lisp Programmer

#9

Post by imthrownaway »

lexicalscope wrote: post #5

I'm not super fond of the assumption that someone is bipolar simply because of going in and out of frenetic periods of activity, that isn't really what bipolar disorder is. I have bipolar (II), so here's some things: Since I only have bipolar II, I have never experienced "true" mania, but I can tell you that even hypo-mania is not what is described. Hypomania is more like having your throttle stuck on wide open and n…

Hello (sister|brother)! I have Bipolar (I). It's not "only" bipolar I or II, they're both terrible (so I'm told, I've never been "not bipolar"). You've really hit the nail on the head. I could waste bytes with more words of agreement, but you've covered it pretty well. Manic-Depression is one of those turns of phrase that really illustrates how clumsy human communications are, given our single frame of reference.
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