4 ms·

I'm the opposite for hardcore engineers. An in-shape, muscular person looks like they have dedicated a non-trivial amount of time to not software. I presume mos

I'm the opposite for hardcore engineers. An in-shape, muscular person looks like they have dedicated a non-trivial amount of time to not software. I presume most people that look like that just see writing software as "a job" and won't be as capable of fully owning anything more complex than small portions of a complex application.

0815test 7y ago
> An in-shape, muscular person looks like they have dedicated a non-trivial amount of time to not software. Hitting the gym can actually be pretty complementary to writing software or doing other sorts of engineering in the best possible way. For example, many people are psychologically messed up due to some sort of mental "baggage" that basically shows up as a somatic fight-or-flight response, albeit generally in an in-set, chronicized form rather than a literal stress reaction. This can place a significant cap on both your executive function and your self-perceived mental acuity. Hitting the gym is an excellent, time- and cost-effective way to work that stress out of your body and mind!
- hueving 7y ago
  That's effectively quack science. I'd love to be proven otherwise with evidence, but I've seen nothing that shows people spending an hour a day outperforming people who do not in mental tasks.
- asdfman123 7y ago
  I had a boss that was a good programmer and would work late into the night on pet projects. A true coder. But he'd get so stressed out he'd yell at team members every time things went wrong. Communication was poor and the whole team suffered from it. You need to devote a "non-trival" amount of time becoming a well rounded person or everything else is going to suffer, including your ability to maintain relationships in the workplace and communicate. That's way more important than knowing all the arcane details of the Java virtual machine.
  - hueving 7y ago
    Cool story. Nothing to do with body building.
kornish 7y ago
Totally disagree. "If you want something done, give it to a busy man."
jplayer01 7y ago
Hitting the gym doesn't require significantly more time than any other hobby which one might take seriously. And I'd surmise it's possible to be a great engineer while also maintaining hobbies other than spending every waking second writing code.
dvfjsdhgfv 7y ago
That's a strange view. Goof programmers are supposed to be smart people than can focus not only on little implementation details, but also the overall vision. Part of your overall vision as a human being is a healthy lifestyle, so I can see being fit only as an advantage, especially for a programmer.
- siphon22 7y ago
  >"Goof programmer" What did you just call me?!
arcturus17 7y ago
Taking care of your body only takes ~1h a day and eating healthy most of the time. You might as well not trust anyone with a family or any kind of hobby outside of programming to write a decent program.
lazyasciiart 7y ago
Alternative: If all your software work has to be done at a computer you probably aren’t thinking hard enough.
fiblye 7y ago
Your ideal engineer seems to be someone who devotes their life to your business at the cost of their personal health and betterment. Someone who’ll burn out when they realize their employer only sees them as a tool to be used and having any personal life or hobbies comes at the cost of their boss not making record profits every quarter. Nearly every notably brilliant programmer out there has other pursuits. You need to diversify your interests for your health and to gain inspiration from outside sources. Locking yourself into a bubble of software only makes you miss out on the world.
- hueving 7y ago
  Devoting your life to software does not imply burnout. There are companies that reward you for giving a shit (see many startups). Point to me the group of brilliant engineers that have the bodies of body builders. I'm not saying they won't be in shape, I'm saying that someone who has an abnormally muscular body is clearly dedicating a non trivial portion of their life to it.
WalterBright 7y ago
On the other hand, I do my best thinking when going for a jog. It doesn't require extra time.
pcstl 7y ago
People who spend all their time writing software tend to be very good at pushing out very large amounts of lines of code very fast, but that doesn't necessarily make them good engineers.
asdfman123 7y ago
Richard Stallman said, "My hobbies include affection, international folk dance, flying, cooking, physics, recorder, puns, science fiction fandom, and programming; I magically get paid for doing the last one." I don't see how you could be an intelligent, creative person and only be fixated on one thing your entire life. The smartest people I know have all sorts of creative outlets. I think I saw something that said a very large portion of Nobel prize winners are musicians, too. Personally, I exercise because if I don't my mood suffers. It's a big problem, which I have found a solution to. Don't judge people.
ves 7y ago
To pile on further, hitting the gym and other sports relentlessly is what allows me to continue programming for long hours without my body falling apart.

0815test 7y ago

> An in-shape, muscular person looks like they have dedicated a non-trivial amount of time to not software. Hitting the gym can actually be pretty complementary to writing software or doing other sorts of engineering in the best possible way. For example, many people are psychologically messed up due to some sort of mental "baggage" that basically shows up as a somatic fight-or-flight response, albeit generally in an in-set, chronicized form rather than a literal stress reaction. This can place a significant cap on both your executive function and your self-perceived mental acuity. Hitting the gym is an excellent, time- and cost-effective way to work that stress out of your body and mind!

hueving 7y ago
That's effectively quack science. I'd love to be proven otherwise with evidence, but I've seen nothing that shows people spending an hour a day outperforming people who do not in mental tasks.
asdfman123 7y ago
I had a boss that was a good programmer and would work late into the night on pet projects. A true coder. But he'd get so stressed out he'd yell at team members every time things went wrong. Communication was poor and the whole team suffered from it. You need to devote a "non-trival" amount of time becoming a well rounded person or everything else is going to suffer, including your ability to maintain relationships in the workplace and communicate. That's way more important than knowing all the arcane details of the Java virtual machine.
- hueving 7y ago
  Cool story. Nothing to do with body building.

kornish 7y ago

Totally disagree. "If you want something done, give it to a busy man."

jplayer01 7y ago

Hitting the gym doesn't require significantly more time than any other hobby which one might take seriously. And I'd surmise it's possible to be a great engineer while also maintaining hobbies other than spending every waking second writing code.

dvfjsdhgfv 7y ago

That's a strange view. Goof programmers are supposed to be smart people than can focus not only on little implementation details, but also the overall vision. Part of your overall vision as a human being is a healthy lifestyle, so I can see being fit only as an advantage, especially for a programmer.

siphon22 7y ago
>"Goof programmer" What did you just call me?!

arcturus17 7y ago

Taking care of your body only takes ~1h a day and eating healthy most of the time. You might as well not trust anyone with a family or any kind of hobby outside of programming to write a decent program.

lazyasciiart 7y ago

Alternative: If all your software work has to be done at a computer you probably aren’t thinking hard enough.

fiblye 7y ago

Your ideal engineer seems to be someone who devotes their life to your business at the cost of their personal health and betterment. Someone who’ll burn out when they realize their employer only sees them as a tool to be used and having any personal life or hobbies comes at the cost of their boss not making record profits every quarter. Nearly every notably brilliant programmer out there has other pursuits. You need to diversify your interests for your health and to gain inspiration from outside sources. Locking yourself into a bubble of software only makes you miss out on the world.

hueving 7y ago
Devoting your life to software does not imply burnout. There are companies that reward you for giving a shit (see many startups). Point to me the group of brilliant engineers that have the bodies of body builders. I'm not saying they won't be in shape, I'm saying that someone who has an abnormally muscular body is clearly dedicating a non trivial portion of their life to it.

WalterBright 7y ago

On the other hand, I do my best thinking when going for a jog. It doesn't require extra time.

pcstl 7y ago

People who spend all their time writing software tend to be very good at pushing out very large amounts of lines of code very fast, but that doesn't necessarily make them good engineers.

asdfman123 7y ago

Richard Stallman said, "My hobbies include affection, international folk dance, flying, cooking, physics, recorder, puns, science fiction fandom, and programming; I magically get paid for doing the last one." I don't see how you could be an intelligent, creative person and only be fixated on one thing your entire life. The smartest people I know have all sorts of creative outlets. I think I saw something that said a very large portion of Nobel prize winners are musicians, too. Personally, I exercise because if I don't my mood suffers. It's a big problem, which I have found a solution to. Don't judge people.

ves 7y ago

To pile on further, hitting the gym and other sports relentlessly is what allows me to continue programming for long hours without my body falling apart.