How to Hire a Programmer • Hacker News Board

Re: How to Hire a Programmer

#11

Post by Hexstream » Tue, Jun 10, 2008, 5:10 PM UTC

sofal wrote: post #9

I like cats, percussion, and certain kinds of absurd humor. Even humor as absurd as Ren and Stimpy sometimes. I'm curious if anyone else enjoyed Ren and Stimpy back in the day, since I've found it to be somewhat polarizing (you either loved it or you thought it was the most disgusting crap you'd ever seen).

"you either loved it or you thought it was the most disgusting crap you'd ever seen"

Both...

Re: How to Hire a Programmer

#12

Post by chuchurocka » Tue, Jun 10, 2008, 5:13 PM UTC

sofal wrote: post #9

I like cats, percussion, and certain kinds of absurd humor. Even humor as absurd as Ren and Stimpy sometimes. I'm curious if anyone else enjoyed Ren and Stimpy back in the day, since I've found it to be somewhat polarizing (you either loved it or you thought it was the most disgusting crap you'd ever seen).

it was possibly one of the best nicktoons of all time! well, before Billy West took over...

Re: How to Hire a Programmer

#13

Post by eat » Tue, Jun 10, 2008, 8:28 PM UTC

pavelludiq wrote: post #8

Im not good in programming, but i love cats, i love monthy python and the hitch-hiker's guide to the galaxy and i love music and photography. I guess some of those stuff are just signs that you have some qualities that good hackers have. They don't make you good, practice and hard work makes you good. Something that's been troubling me is that my weirdness is much bigger than my actual programming skills and i felt l…

The correct quote is "attitude is no substitute for competence", and I believe esr said that.

Re: How to Hire a Programmer

#14

Post by alex_c » Tue, Jun 10, 2008, 10:05 PM UTC

Perhaps a sense of the absurd matters because so much of what developers put up with is absurd - absurd schedules, absurd requirements, absurd hours. Treating the absurdities of the average development process with humor makes developers' jobs much easier.

I think it's rather that you need a good sense of logic to even notice - let alone truly appreciate - the absurdity of certain situations.

Re: How to Hire a Programmer

#15

Post by xlnt » Tue, Jun 10, 2008, 10:09 PM UTC

This post is a gem if you want to hire a ruby programmer.

Re: How to Hire a Programmer

#16

Post by gmercer » Tue, Jun 10, 2008, 11:29 PM UTC

Ok someone needs to come up with one for "how to hire a web designer". :)

Re: How to Hire a Programmer

#17

Post by tokipin » Tue, Jun 10, 2008, 11:42 PM UTC

pavelludiq wrote: post #8

Im not good in programming, but i love cats, i love monthy python and the hitch-hiker's guide to the galaxy and i love music and photography. I guess some of those stuff are just signs that you have some qualities that good hackers have. They don't make you good, practice and hard work makes you good. Something that's been troubling me is that my weirdness is much bigger than my actual programming skills and i felt l…

don't be "weird," that's just weird. be yourself. i say this because when i was younger, i had pride in being "weird." at some point though, i realized i was just dicking around with what other people thought of me. it's a waste of time and energy. though it may have been a necessary phase for me

i guess i used it as a "warning" to other people. like "hey! i'm weird! that means if i do something awkward, it's no problem because it's expected!"

now, i am just myself, and too bad if my persona bothers people ^_^ it's a straightforward no-bullshit type of thing. free

Re: How to Hire a Programmer

#18

Post by zvikara » Wed, Jun 11, 2008, 12:48 AM UTC

"It's because programming is more like painting than engineering."

I think pg would agree.

Re: How to Hire a Programmer

#19

Post by schtog » Wed, Jun 11, 2008, 2:09 AM UTC

I:

  * like Monty Python and absurd humour
  * prefer dogs
  * bad at painting but likes and is good at photography
  * like science fiction movies but havent read mnay SF-books
  * know what grok means now but didnt before reading the article

Willst thou hire me?

Re: How to Hire a Programmer

#20

Post by mickt » Wed, Jun 11, 2008, 2:40 AM UTC

So that's it! I always suspected that having a dog ruined my programming fits and that having to walk the dog at midnight ruins my concentration and programming rhythm. I guess it's time to get a cat, or train the 65lb dog to use a litter box. ;)