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After reading such articles I'm always left with the feeling that as software engineers we think we are in some kind of magical domain that is completely differ

by ksk 10y ago

After reading such articles I'm always left with the feeling that as software engineers we think we are in some kind of magical domain that is completely different from where the rest of worlds engineers/scientists do their work. I work with a lot of scientists, and most of them have pretty much zero sense of work life balance. They work long hours, often work on weekends, are obsessed about their work, and exhibit all the "red flags" as blog posts like these like to point out. Yet, they are extremely productive; many are world-class scientists who hold dozens of patents. And its not just me, I'd say a TON of scientific and cutting edge engineering work is done by people toiling long hours with not a semblance of a balance in their lives. (N.B. I'm not endorsing one way or the other, but the insistence of articles like this that X requires Y often goes unchallenged)

Swizec 10y ago
> I'd say a TON of scientific and cutting edge engineering The problem is that most of us think we're doing cutting edge engineering work, but really we're not. We're just the manual laborers of the information age. Artisans at best. We the average joe engineers of the world, need rest and work/life balance. That said, Feynman is famous for crediting the stepping away from work work and going back to joyous play, with making discoveries that lead to a Nobel prize. If he kept pushing himself and toiling on the busywork that Real Research was pushing on him, he'd never get anything done.
- ksk 10y ago
  >That said, Feynman is famous for crediting the stepping away from work work and going back to joyous play, with making discoveries that lead to a Nobel prize. If he kept pushing himself and toiling on the busywork that Real Research was pushing on him, he'd never get anything done. Hmm, I don't recall him ever saying that. Do you have a cite for that? What I do recall is him saying he often worked on problems that served no greater purpose, essentially for the fun of it rather than any assumed utility. He may very well have been toiling for long hours on those problems.
  - Swizec 10y ago
    It's from Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman. Here's a 1874 day old HN thread about it that also links to a full quote: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3033359 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3033359 I remember seeing it in youtube forme once, too. Might be this 1 hour interview, but I can't find the exact timestamp now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zZbX_9ru9U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zZbX_9ru9U

by ksk 10y ago

Swizec 10y ago

> I'd say a TON of scientific and cutting edge engineering The problem is that most of us think we're doing cutting edge engineering work, but really we're not. We're just the manual laborers of the information age. Artisans at best. We the average joe engineers of the world, need rest and work/life balance. That said, Feynman is famous for crediting the stepping away from work work and going back to joyous play, with making discoveries that lead to a Nobel prize. If he kept pushing himself and toiling on the busywork that Real Research was pushing on him, he'd never get anything done.

ksk 10y ago
>That said, Feynman is famous for crediting the stepping away from work work and going back to joyous play, with making discoveries that lead to a Nobel prize. If he kept pushing himself and toiling on the busywork that Real Research was pushing on him, he'd never get anything done. Hmm, I don't recall him ever saying that. Do you have a cite for that? What I do recall is him saying he often worked on problems that served no greater purpose, essentially for the fun of it rather than any assumed utility. He may very well have been toiling for long hours on those problems.
- Swizec 10y ago
  It's from Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman. Here's a 1874 day old HN thread about it that also links to a full quote: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3033359 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3033359 I remember seeing it in youtube forme once, too. Might be this 1 hour interview, but I can't find the exact timestamp now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zZbX_9ru9U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zZbX_9ru9U