3 ms·
Not OP, but for me, it's like having someone stand over my head with a pot, banging it with a spoon incessantly. It utterly destroys my ability to concentrate.
by downerending 7y ago
Not OP, but for me, it's like having someone stand over my head with a pot, banging it with a spoon incessantly. It utterly destroys my ability to concentrate.
Had a chance to closely observe a session once. Looked through the code later--total garbage.
Apparently it works for some, but you couldn't pay me to do it.
(Also, seems unfair to programmers that can't hear well or need other accommodations.)
- oarabbus_ 7y agoWere you coding with someone either much more, or much less experienced than you? Without knowing the case, this could affect how successful the pair coding is.
- downerending 7y agoTwo people somewhat less experienced. I don't believe that was the issue.
- byeager 7y agoOut of curiosity do you think they benefited from the experience?
- downerending 7y agoHard to say. The code that was produced was worse than useless, IMO. I think they were programmers that had both peaked (and stopped learning) when they were young. I'd guess they're in management now.
- cgarvis 7y agoPairing programming is like any skill. If you never do it, you will be terrible at it. I also believe that pair programming requires a level of psychological safety that not all orgs possess.
- downerending 7y agoPossibly, but the time and energy it would take to do that would be far better spent brushing up on new and not-recently-used technologies. Ability to produce quality code is far down the list of my weaknesses, and life is short.
- cgarvis 7y agoGoal of pair programming isn’t better quality code, that is a side effect, but better quality solutions. It’s one of those 1+1=3 types of things. It is also a great training tool. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve had junior engineers ask me about something that I thought was common knowledge or wouldn’t have thought to mention cause I thought it was trivial. It’s a tool in your toolbox. Don’t use it on every problem.
- downerending 7y agoI'm happy to discuss things at the water cooler or in front of a whiteboard, and this seems to be an efficient way to discuss design or help junior people. But sitting next to someone at length is rarely helpful, to me.
- agumonkey 7y agoit can surely be, but do you happen to have times where you sluggish and facing a problem you're very far from knowing how to solve ? in which case it helps making progress. I'm mostly speculating based on my small experience