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How to be a sane programmer

nicholascloud.com

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Re: How to be a sane programmer

#41

Post by agentultra »

Programming has been at times my sole obsession.

However in the long run it has been and always will be a means to an end.

I think the advice to look afield is good. Gerald Sussman seems to agree as he often looks to biology for new ideas. Ideas are not born in a vacuum after all. They need to form hunches and meet other hunches and be given time to cook. That's a number of metaphors... but I think you get where I'm going with this. I hope.

Spend time learning the fundamentals for sure but branch out as soon as you can.

Re: How to be a sane programmer

#42

Post by badman_ting »

AznHisoka wrote: post #14
tedkalaw wrote: post #5

I still find the pressure to work on side projects in your free time difficult to come to terms with. There's often discussion about how if you don't like what you're doing, then you should find a new job - and easily, if you're in the bay area. I know a lot of really talented devs that don't work on side projects because they are completely consumed by, and love, their work and can't imagine doing anything else. Wha…

Personally I find it insane to go home and work on a side project after work, if it's not something you hope to make money from.

Thank you for saying that, seriously.

Re: How to be a sane programmer

#43

Post by yangez »

> Programming, like writing, painting, and music, is chiefly a creative endeavor not a technical one. Practice... will not make you a substantially better programmer. It will just make you more efficient with your tools.

Show me a world-class writer who doesn't obsess about his writing with every waking moment.

Show me a master painter who doesn't paint every single chance she gets.

And show me a music prodigy who hasn't slogged through 15 years of mind-numbing practice every single day.

Only then will I believe that these artists are just getting more "efficient with their tools".

In creative fields, it's even more important that you put in a huge volume of work. That's the only way to connect the dots and create something truly unique.

Re: How to be a sane programmer

#44

Post by existencebox »

beebs93 wrote: post #29
chriswarbo wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"What if your passion is your day job?" Then pursue it with a passion. "I find it difficult to go hard at work and put 100% in and then come home and work on side projects." Then don't. "Usually, I'd rather spend time with friends and family." Then do. "This seems to disqualify me from a lot of job postings." If getting the job requires a large time commitment to side-projects, then they're not side-projects. If you'…

Geezuz Murphy I was almost yelling this at the screen as I read the OP's comments. There is no single template to improving as a programmer while staying both mentally and physically healthy. Define your goals and align your life to meet them; do NOT align your life to meet goals defined by others.

Thank you to both the above and above-above for bringing this up. Too often do I see these "you need to do x to be y" or "If you don't do z you're not really passionate", as you said far better than I could have, live the life you want to live. Do what you want to, don't do what you don't; but whichever choice you make, put your all into it, passions and talents will float to the top. While there is something to doing lots of something being how you get good at it, there needs to be more focus on the doing, and less on the getting good at it. This has the side effect of creating what I see as more positive motivations and interactions between fellow do-ers. (citing weak anecdotes from my days as a TA)

Re: How to be a sane programmer

#45

Post by derefr »

southphillyman wrote: post #23
tedkalaw wrote: post #5

I still find the pressure to work on side projects in your free time difficult to come to terms with. There's often discussion about how if you don't like what you're doing, then you should find a new job - and easily, if you're in the bay area. I know a lot of really talented devs that don't work on side projects because they are completely consumed by, and love, their work and can't imagine doing anything else. Wha…

How do you guys continue learning if not through side projects? Do you only care about the stack you use at work? The point of doing side projects isn't coding for the sake of coding. It's either to solve a real problem or a means to highlight current technical interests.

Presumably, by figuring out a way to get paid to do whatever you would do in your side projects. For example, build a component of the company's online service in X, to learn X.

Re: How to be a sane programmer

#46

Post by atrk »

yangez wrote: post #43

> Programming, like writing, painting, and music, is chiefly a creative endeavor not a technical one. Practice... will not make you a substantially better programmer. It will just make you more efficient with your tools. Show me a world-class writer who doesn't obsess about his writing with every waking moment. Show me a master painter who doesn't paint every single chance she gets. And show me a music prodigy who ha…

So your argument is that the primary difference between geniuses and the rest of schlubs is sheer volume of rote practice? I think you're confusing creativity with tool proficiency.

Re: How to be a sane programmer

#47

Post by city41 »

yangez wrote: post #43

> Programming, like writing, painting, and music, is chiefly a creative endeavor not a technical one. Practice... will not make you a substantially better programmer. It will just make you more efficient with your tools. Show me a world-class writer who doesn't obsess about his writing with every waking moment. Show me a master painter who doesn't paint every single chance she gets. And show me a music prodigy who ha…

I think there is a middle ground between the OP and your comment. I agree with you that the best way to get good at programming is to program. But I also agree with the OP that having other hobbies, interests and letting your mind work on different things will also help you. The ideal balance is some mix of side projects and hobbies.

Re: How to be a sane programmer

#48

Post by dmur »

yangez wrote: post #43

> Programming, like writing, painting, and music, is chiefly a creative endeavor not a technical one. Practice... will not make you a substantially better programmer. It will just make you more efficient with your tools. Show me a world-class writer who doesn't obsess about his writing with every waking moment. Show me a master painter who doesn't paint every single chance she gets. And show me a music prodigy who ha…

I agree that you must put in time to get better, but I think the difference with programming is that more hours does not necessarily result in getting better. Actually, now that I think about it, maybe that's no different than the examples you provided. If you practice violin 14 hours a day, will you really be better than you would if you practiced 8 hours a day and spent the other 6 doing other things?

When programmers get beyond a critical daily/weekly threshold, putting in more hours hurts more than it helps. The brain gets tired of solving problems, and when that happens, pushing yourself further is not the answer. The answer is to do something else, especially something involving physical activity, to allow your brain time to recover.

I believe that many programmers fundamentally do not understand this concept, thus they drive themselves crazy trying to push harder and harder. Yes, you may write more lines of code that way, but at what cost?

Re: How to be a sane programmer

#49

Post by pessimizer »

yangez wrote: post #43

> Programming, like writing, painting, and music, is chiefly a creative endeavor not a technical one. Practice... will not make you a substantially better programmer. It will just make you more efficient with your tools. Show me a world-class writer who doesn't obsess about his writing with every waking moment. Show me a master painter who doesn't paint every single chance she gets. And show me a music prodigy who ha…

>And show me a music prodigy who hasn't slogged through 15 years of mind-numbing practice every single day.

Can you really be called a prodigy if you've been practicing every day for 15 years?

Re: How to be a sane programmer

#50

Post by icebraining »

yangez wrote: post #43

> Programming, like writing, painting, and music, is chiefly a creative endeavor not a technical one. Practice... will not make you a substantially better programmer. It will just make you more efficient with your tools. Show me a world-class writer who doesn't obsess about his writing with every waking moment. Show me a master painter who doesn't paint every single chance she gets. And show me a music prodigy who ha…

I love this[1] interview of Eubie Blake by Marian McPartland for many reasons, but the part where he describes how he at 93-years-old still does daily scales on the piano just goes to show the importance of persistent training in artistic endeavors. I'm a lazy bastard, but I'd only be fooling myself if lack of complete dedication to my craft didn't come at a price.

That said, I have no sympathy for a company that expects to hire a Yo-Yo Ma for the salary of an amateur band member.

[1] http://www.npr.org/2012/10/19/123385170/eubie-blake-on-piano...

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