In coding, making mistakes is expected and correctable. The challenge is often akin to solving a puzzle. You have a general idea of the shape of the solution, b

In coding, making mistakes is expected and correctable. The challenge is often akin to solving a puzzle. You have a general idea of the shape of the solution, but it usually isn't laid out as a blueprint. The work is almost entirely mental. The challenge is intellectual. In (fine) woodworking, making a mistake is far more punishing. You have a blueprint, not a puzzle. The work is as much physical as it is mental. The challenge is in setting up and executing a series of cuts, shapings, sandings, and finishings with perfect precision. There are few correctable mistakes: material can be removed but never added, joinery must mate perfectly else it's useless, blemishes in the finish are extremely difficult to remedy, etc. I think a lot of coders tend to be perfectionists, wanting to be certain that their end product generates correct results and irritated to the point of obsession when it doesn't. I think fine woodworking feeds into that same perfectionist drive, and in an even more challenging way.