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“Eat, sleep, code, repeat” is such bullshit

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Re: “Eat, sleep, code, repeat” is such bullshit

#21

Post by jonas21 »

jaywunder wrote: post #3

I think the OP misses the point of the shirt. Lot's of different subcultures and activities have this type of shirt. Someone could just as well wear a shirt that says "Eat. Sleep. Hike. Repeat." And people wouldn't actually think the person _only_ hikes. The shirt is completely ironic because to suggest someone _only_ codes all day is ridiculous. The OP misses the irony.

Agreed. And you see this pattern used all over the place, for example [1]. It's just a way to say, "I'm, enthusiastic about ____". Fill in the blank with whatever you want.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eat,_Sleep,_Rave,_Repeat

Re: “Eat, sleep, code, repeat” is such bullshit

#22

Post by geofft »

shrugger wrote: post #19

Yeah, fuck enthusiasm! /s I can understand that we might want to avoid the obsessive behaviors of some developers that could be considered unhealthy, but blaming a simple catch-phrase isn't going to get us anywhere. What if the shirt said, "Coding is rad" ? I say that all the time, and people just give me that look that says, "Ha, what a nerd" and it's fine for me because I can maintain my enthusiasm. Other people ne…

There's a difference between enthusiasm and obsession, and I'm pretty sure there's a difference in how you object to enthusiasm vs. obsession. "John&Paul&George&Ringo." is a great T-shirt. "I spend all day in my bedroom listening to the Beatles" is saying something very different. And if there is a subculture of people who literally do the latter, to the point where it's not obvious that it's hyperbole, it's valid to object to it as "Dude, that's a bit unhealthy" -- which is a very different criticism than "The Beatles sound awful".

Re: “Eat, sleep, code, repeat” is such bullshit

#24

Post by [deleted] »

lsiunsuex wrote: post #2

While I don't agree that programming needs to be all consuming, spend enough time around new programmers and you'll see a difference in passion. Someone who does programming because they can earn a pay check vs someone that does programming because they truly enjoy it. You don't get that passion by doing it 9-5. Programming CAN be all consuming if you let it and for a while, I did. I had so much work to do be it at m…

[deleted]

Re: “Eat, sleep, code, repeat” is such bullshit

#25

Post by zxcvcxz »

Broken_Hippo wrote: post #17
jaywunder wrote: post #3

I think the OP misses the point of the shirt. Lot's of different subcultures and activities have this type of shirt. Someone could just as well wear a shirt that says "Eat. Sleep. Hike. Repeat." And people wouldn't actually think the person _only_ hikes. The shirt is completely ironic because to suggest someone _only_ codes all day is ridiculous. The OP misses the irony.

Most folks don't hike for a living. On the other hand, lots of folks code for a living. While it is indeed ridiculous to think that someone only does coding, the current culture in some places is that the job should come first - before family, sleep, health, and other such things. So while it is just a bit funny when placed on Hiking, when placed on coding (or any other job activity), it just seems to reinforce such…

Some people code for fun too.

Re: “Eat, sleep, code, repeat” is such bullshit

#27

Post by panic »

zxcvcxz wrote: post #25
Broken_Hippo wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most folks don't hike for a living. On the other hand, lots of folks code for a living. While it is indeed ridiculous to think that someone only does coding, the current culture in some places is that the job should come first - before family, sleep, health, and other such things. So while it is just a bit funny when placed on Hiking, when placed on coding (or any other job activity), it just seems to reinforce such…

Some people code for fun too.

Sure, but this shirt is being produced by a corporation and sold at a professional developer conference.

Re: “Eat, sleep, code, repeat” is such bullshit

#28

Post by closed »

I didn't see anything alarming in this phrase, but from responses in this thread it's clear it strikes a nerve with some people.

And that's really helpful to know. I came into the thread seeing nothing wrong with it, but now have a sense that it might be a bigger issue than I had realized.

Another commenter mentioned that many groups use the ol' "Eat, {VERB}, Sleep, Repeat" slogan on t-shirts to express enthusiasm for something, rather than a top-down expectation. But maybe the issue of separating work / personal time is hot enough in tech that the slogan ends up reminding people (like OP) that there's a risk others will try to convince you to take it seriously as a requirement for your career.

This kind of thing comes up in academia, too--where there's a pervasive I-love-science-so-much-I-work-late-into-the-night-every-day mentality. Eat, research, tell people how late you were up researching, sleep, repeat.

Re: “Eat, sleep, code, repeat” is such bullshit

#30

Post by unimpressive »

jaywunder wrote: post #3

I think the OP misses the point of the shirt. Lot's of different subcultures and activities have this type of shirt. Someone could just as well wear a shirt that says "Eat. Sleep. Hike. Repeat." And people wouldn't actually think the person _only_ hikes. The shirt is completely ironic because to suggest someone _only_ codes all day is ridiculous. The OP misses the irony.

I wouldn't say it's irony. The joke is more "ha ha only serious" than not.
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