6 ms·

So, after a law professor retires s/he immediately stops thinking about law?

• irishcoffee 11y ago
  I'm not sure what point you think you're making. When someone takes an action, do they immediately stop thinking about the topic of that action? Did you read the article?
  • jevgeni 11y ago
    Did you? He's not talking about quitting his job, but his (former) passion. That's not retiring.
    • SlashmanX 11y ago
      Deirdre is a woman
      • jevgeni 11y ago
        Oh, my mistake. Thanks for pointing that out. Not really familiar with less frequent English names.
        • SlashmanX 11y ago
          It's actually Irish (so is her middle name Saoirse). It's pronounced Deer-dra in case you're wondering
          • jevgeni 11y ago
            I thought "deed-ree" initially. Thank you.
    • treerock 11y ago
      Did you really? She isn't quitting her passion, she's quitting doing it for someone else, i.e. her job. >"It’s not to say that I have no interest in software. Of course I do...What I mean is that I can’t do it for someone else the way I used to...I have some ideas of what I want to do software-wise, but I’m not ready to announce them yet."
      • jevgeni 11y ago
        So she isn't retiring, is that what you are saying?
        • irishcoffee 11y ago
          She hasn't been self-employed in 38 years. Unless she is in some very unusual life situation, you don't try your hand at self-employment, after 38 years, unless you can afford to fuck up in grandiose style and still be financially secure. So yes, she is retiring.
          • jevgeni 11y ago
            You retire when you hang up your hat and start getting pension. You can keep you opinion, but I prefer the one without brave assumptions about a person I don't know.
            • irishcoffee 11y ago
              Heh, your age is showing.
• adwn 11y ago
  > So, after a law professor retires s/he immediately stops thinking about law? The proper analogy would be: "So, after a lawyer retires s/he immediately stops practicing law?" Yes, s/he does.
  • jevgeni 11y ago
    So, when you retire will you immediately stop practicing programming?
    • jerf 11y ago
      Equivocation; "practicing" law and "practicing" programming are not the same thing.
      • jevgeni 11y ago
        It can be compared. Both require to mentally navigate certain set of constraints and rules and build up a mental model of the domain problem, after which you produce a concrete result. In programming it's software, in law practice it's mostly a written consultation or a decision. The point I'm making, is that both are mental endeavours. Programming isn't constantly typing at a desk, hitting TAB, and letting the IDE do the rest, but actually solving the problem in your head. If I quit a programming job, that doesn't mean I stop thinking on programming problems. Same goes for law. The problem that the author is describing, is that she has reached the limits of her profession to such an extent, that even thinking on (most) programming problems isn't interesting to her anymore. Which is a sad thing.
        • jerf 11y ago
          "Practicing law" specifically means performing legal services, in the real law system, for a real client. It is a term of art, not a generic English use of the term. Practicing programming has a much fuzzier meaning, because it is the generic English term. My point is your snark doesn't hold, because "practicing law" is fundamentally a different thing from "practicing" programming.