[deleted]
Writing that first Hello World program in 8-bit binary
Hello, World
101–110 of 174 posts
Re: Hello, World
#102Programmers aren't the only people that have existential thoughts about what they devote their time, energy, and ultimately life to.
If the author thinks there's something fundamentally more "worthy" about farming than software development, he doesn't bother making that point with any great detail. I got nothing from this story.
Re: Hello, World
#103So this guy: - Changed his major overnight from whatever it was to computer science after writing a Hello, World program - Left "so-called higher education" to work at a real-life job "without even thinking about it twice" - Quit real-life job to be a bartender and chef - Quit doing that after getting girlfriend pregnant to 'go back to the "real world" to get a job' - Quit that to build a house and work on a farm Eve…
>Every life event he describes here is a movement to extremes out of frustration or anxiety from what he was currently doing. I'm sure there's much more to this story, but if anything, this is an example of how peace of mind can't be found on either ends of a see-saw.
He has balls, I'll give him that, and I don't see any problem with changing things - even very large things like ones career - in order to find what makes you happy and makes your life feel fulfilling.
I'm finding that I don't have that in me. The thought of leaving a well paid, comfortable and regularly challenging job in software development, even if it's not the passion that fuels life for me personally, for a future of uncertainty is far too daunting for me to take action and "try something new".
Maybe that's deeply seated in how I perceive myself and others to judge those who do try, and sometimes fail at trying, their hand at other things along the way? I don't know, but at this point in life I commend anyone who tries to break the mold we've been pretty much set into since we were teenagers.
Re: Hello, World
#104> I am burnt out on having a “40 hour” work week that actually occupies the majority of my mental time. This really resonated with me. I can't just stop thinking about this stuff just because I'm at lunch or at home if I'm working on a hard problem. But I don't get paid for that time.
That's why it's a career, not a job. That's why professionals introduce themselves with, 'I'm a doctor' or 'I'm a lawyer' or 'I'm a developer.' That's why we are (or should be) salaried. We are our professions; in a very real sense, we can't be anything else.
Re: Hello, World
#105"When a programmer picks up a new language it is customary to write the timeless Hello World application to ease your way into a daunting codebase with an overly-simplistic view of its syntax."
Who has actually written a "hello world" program to ease their way into a daunting codebase? Anyone? I haven't.
Re: Hello, World
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think this is the result of the relative ease of getting programming work and good salaries. It attracts a lot of people who are not really in it for the love. Some of those people are going to feel like their soul is being sucked out. This guy is one of them which explains his extreme reactions. I personally would rather work at the shittiest programming job than go out and work on a farm. But that's just me.
While I agree that programming attracts a lot of people that aren't in it for the love of the craft, I disagree with most of your sentiment. I see a creative person who struggles with having to focus on someone else's agenda. Most non-developers see programming as tedious, mind-numbing work that involves zero creativity. Most people who have never worked on a small farm or built a table/shed/house/whatever think of t…
Wow... this has the makings of a wonderful essay. :)
Re: Hello, World
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
> if anything, this is an example of how peace of mind can't be found on either ends of a see-saw Well, there are different personality types out there. This may be "peace of mind" for him. Personally, I split my time between the "real world" and getting my "hands dirty". I think it's important to have both at the same time, so you don't end up see-sawing between the two.
> Well, there are different personality types out there. This may be "peace of mind" for him. I'd agree with this if he didn't sound so reactionary. Leaving a software job to work on a farm is great if you're making a deliberate choice from a solid mental state. He makes it sound like he's doing this (and every other choice he described) because he'd otherwise be going out of his mind. It's disturbing to read in a wa…
he doesn't sound like he has full agency over his current decision.
There's a finished sheen to his prose, so I give him the benefit of doubt that he's merely caricaturizing his situation. Actual life stories are quite dull, you know, as opposed to say, the movies.
And on the topic of differing sensibilities, it's curious that you find it "disturbing to read." We are left wondering why.
Re: Hello, World
#108This rings true. I'm 30, have a well paid programming job, but I just don't care that much about it anymore. I used to be so passionate and enthusiastic. But now I feel like there's more to life than banging out code. Unfortunately there's not much else I know other than the internet and the fact it's currently making me a lot more money than 95% of my friends. So that leaves me ultimately disenchanted with nowhere t…
With money comes options. I think by default, the option most 30 years choose is to continue living paycheck to paycheck, but to do so in a more extravagant manner. If you aren't already, consider downsizing, paying off your debts and saving an aggressive percentage of your income. It won't make much of a difference in the short term but you are buying yourself more options down the road. If you can put $3,000 a mont…
>(That's not to say that you should stay in an unfulfilling job forever - just that you should make hay while the sun is shining).
I agree. I'm almost 30 myself and have been living quite extravagantly as you say. I'm hoping to spend my 30s building sufficient wealth that by my early 40s I'll have a passive income sufficient enough to let me essentially retire to somewhere nice where I can spend my time on self-actualization.
It's interesting that more of this kind of content keeps coming up on HN, it seems that many of us are tiring of the "rat race". I hope I treat the next decade in the right manner so that I'm not looking at HN submissions on self-actualization or breaking the mold in 10 years and regretting not having done things.
Re: Hello, World
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think this is the result of the relative ease of getting programming work and good salaries. It attracts a lot of people who are not really in it for the love. Some of those people are going to feel like their soul is being sucked out. This guy is one of them which explains his extreme reactions. I personally would rather work at the shittiest programming job than go out and work on a farm. But that's just me.
While I agree that programming attracts a lot of people that aren't in it for the love of the craft, I disagree with most of your sentiment. I see a creative person who struggles with having to focus on someone else's agenda. Most non-developers see programming as tedious, mind-numbing work that involves zero creativity. Most people who have never worked on a small farm or built a table/shed/house/whatever think of t…
>Both working on a farm and programming are surprisingly creative professions.
For all the shit rural culture gets around here, I'm usually impressed by the ingenuity of its homegrown hacker-like culture. I sometimes get frustrated with my overly automated urban life. Apartment/condo living with a low maintenance car/appliances/technology and a worklife where I'm shuttled to and from via public transportation doesn't leave a lot of room for fun little hacks or impromptu solutions. The room that's left is often trivial gimmicks like tying something to tasker or messing around with whatever platform or language is hot right now.
Then I bought a fixer-upper house. As frustrating as this can be sometimes, there's just a great rewarding feeling of learning new things, fixing things, adding value to your home, etc. Real life hacking that isn't servos or screens is surprisingly rewarding. A small farm must be this x100.
Re: Hello, World
#110[deleted]