6 ms·

Hard or easy, does it matter? There are a particular set of attributes that are required to be a programmer, I've asked people who've started to be a programmer

Hard or easy, does it matter? There are a particular set of attributes that are required to be a programmer, I've asked people who've started to be a programmer and given up - some of the reasons are: - There's too many things to remember, this is true, there's a lot of stuff you have to remember - It's so boring, I have to sit all day at a screen, this is true - if you don't have an internal representation running in your head and enjoy doing that I can see this would be boring, the tinkerers mind I call it - Its too hard, something happens and you have to find out what, who cares? probably related to the previous points. - I don't like puzzles, something I've noticed, if you don't like solving puzzles, then programming probably isn't for you. Probably more, any others people have noticed? Edit: maybe I should say solving puzzles - not necessarily game sorts of puzzles, but more a sense of hmmm, what happened there? and the determination/ability to solve it, not just throw up your hands.

joe_the_user 6y ago
I don't think your list proves very much, if anything. Nearly every field requiring commitment gets a negative reaction of this sort. What fields aren't boring 'til you get them? What fields don't require memorizing things? At best, you're talking any field requiring thought but even there, lots people give up on intense thought, until they one day get it.
Swizec 6y ago
I am really bad at puzzles and dislike solving them. Just can’t be arsed, there’s nothing at stake and the lack of reward is boring. Been programming since I was 9* and it’s the best thing ever. Precisely because it’s full of problems worth solving. There’s a reward beyond “You figured it out”, maybe you’re the first ever to figure out this particular puzzle, it something starts working that wasn’t before, or you do a thing that previously was impossible. But puzzles? Meh * that’s a good 24 years of writing at least a little code almost every day
- standardUser 6y ago
  Strongly agree. I've played every kind of esoteric video games except for puzzle games and I've never solved a Rubik's cube. But ask me why I like programming "oh, it's like solving all these different puzzles all day long!".
- h43k3r 6y ago
  This is so true of me. Never really liked solving puzzles, cubes, riddles etc. But programming, oh boy I Love it. Have spent hours non stop debugging complex things in OS, Networks, Distributed systems etc. The feeling of solving it at the end is a small dose of drug.
banana_giraffe 6y ago
> I don't like puzzles, something I've noticed, if you don't like solving puzzles, then programming probably isn't for you. Maybe what you meant by "probably", but I've seen my share of fantastic developers that hate programming after hours, and hate solving puzzles if it's not part of the job. Not sure what it speaks to. Might just be I've run into more "programming is a job" types than normal.
- mmcdermott 6y ago
  Maybe. I do tend to take lists like the one above as heuristic rather than absolute. One that I've noticed that's semi-related to puzzles is games. Board games, card games, tabletop games and video games all tend to get more interest in programmer circles. So maybe the puzzle rule of thumb is satisfied for someone who hates crossword puzzles but loves Eurogames.
Zelphyr 6y ago
I find that often you’re right about enjoying things like puzzles, math problems, riddles, those little 3D wooden things, crosswords. It seems like a lot of programmers enjoy those things. Except for me. I hate most of those things yet I love programming. Programming is a creative endeavor for me, whereas puzzles seem pointless for some reason. I finished the puzzle, now what? The same goes for computer games. With programming I often have created something that didn’t exist a few minutes prior and that is such a joy.
- cjvirtucio 6y ago
  There's a tangible benefit to programming, e.g. I just automated this process and now it runs daily and I don't have to worry about it anymore for the 99% case. I can't get that with a rubik's cube.
emeraldd 6y ago
I suspect the puzzle point has more to do with the kind of puzzle to be solved than solving puzzles in general. Word puzzles, dexterity puzzles, progressive discovery puzzles, etc. Each of them has a very different appeal. For instance, a really quick way to annoy me is to through a word puzzle/game at me ... ( figuratively of course ...)
aeturnum 6y ago
While I agree that, in practice, programming is most popular with people who like puzzles, I think this is actually the result of bad tools. We will all run into actual real-world puzzles from time to time ("how can we fit this large operation into this small time envelope"), but generally the problems I have to solve are not puzzles at all. It's clear what I need to do and most of the puzzling is how to get my tools to do it. With more mature tools, I only feel like I am solving puzzles when I am trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat.
ahartmetz 6y ago
Me, I don't like solving logical puzzles for play anymore since I started programming. I could always program instead and make progress in something real :) So my preferred games now are the fast exciting kind, and often language-related like Taboo.
simsla 6y ago
Instead of the "puzzles" thing, which doesn't seem to resonate with a lot of people, I think you're getting at a certain inquisitiveness. People who say "huh, that's weird, I wonder why?"
- chadcmulligan 6y ago
  That's probably a better way to say it - someone with an enquiring mind, that probably fits any science/engineering related career though I suppose.

joe_the_user 6y ago

I don't think your list proves very much, if anything. Nearly every field requiring commitment gets a negative reaction of this sort. What fields aren't boring 'til you get them? What fields don't require memorizing things? At best, you're talking any field requiring thought but even there, lots people give up on intense thought, until they one day get it.

Swizec 6y ago

I am really bad at puzzles and dislike solving them. Just can’t be arsed, there’s nothing at stake and the lack of reward is boring. Been programming since I was 9* and it’s the best thing ever. Precisely because it’s full of problems worth solving. There’s a reward beyond “You figured it out”, maybe you’re the first ever to figure out this particular puzzle, it something starts working that wasn’t before, or you do a thing that previously was impossible. But puzzles? Meh * that’s a good 24 years of writing at least a little code almost every day

standardUser 6y ago
Strongly agree. I've played every kind of esoteric video games except for puzzle games and I've never solved a Rubik's cube. But ask me why I like programming "oh, it's like solving all these different puzzles all day long!".
h43k3r 6y ago
This is so true of me. Never really liked solving puzzles, cubes, riddles etc. But programming, oh boy I Love it. Have spent hours non stop debugging complex things in OS, Networks, Distributed systems etc. The feeling of solving it at the end is a small dose of drug.

banana_giraffe 6y ago

> I don't like puzzles, something I've noticed, if you don't like solving puzzles, then programming probably isn't for you. Maybe what you meant by "probably", but I've seen my share of fantastic developers that hate programming after hours, and hate solving puzzles if it's not part of the job. Not sure what it speaks to. Might just be I've run into more "programming is a job" types than normal.

mmcdermott 6y ago
Maybe. I do tend to take lists like the one above as heuristic rather than absolute. One that I've noticed that's semi-related to puzzles is games. Board games, card games, tabletop games and video games all tend to get more interest in programmer circles. So maybe the puzzle rule of thumb is satisfied for someone who hates crossword puzzles but loves Eurogames.

Zelphyr 6y ago

I find that often you’re right about enjoying things like puzzles, math problems, riddles, those little 3D wooden things, crosswords. It seems like a lot of programmers enjoy those things. Except for me. I hate most of those things yet I love programming. Programming is a creative endeavor for me, whereas puzzles seem pointless for some reason. I finished the puzzle, now what? The same goes for computer games. With programming I often have created something that didn’t exist a few minutes prior and that is such a joy.

cjvirtucio 6y ago
There's a tangible benefit to programming, e.g. I just automated this process and now it runs daily and I don't have to worry about it anymore for the 99% case. I can't get that with a rubik's cube.

emeraldd 6y ago

I suspect the puzzle point has more to do with the kind of puzzle to be solved than solving puzzles in general. Word puzzles, dexterity puzzles, progressive discovery puzzles, etc. Each of them has a very different appeal. For instance, a really quick way to annoy me is to through a word puzzle/game at me ... ( figuratively of course ...)

aeturnum 6y ago

While I agree that, in practice, programming is most popular with people who like puzzles, I think this is actually the result of bad tools. We will all run into actual real-world puzzles from time to time ("how can we fit this large operation into this small time envelope"), but generally the problems I have to solve are not puzzles at all. It's clear what I need to do and most of the puzzling is how to get my tools to do it. With more mature tools, I only feel like I am solving puzzles when I am trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat.

ahartmetz 6y ago

Me, I don't like solving logical puzzles for play anymore since I started programming. I could always program instead and make progress in something real :) So my preferred games now are the fast exciting kind, and often language-related like Taboo.

simsla 6y ago

Instead of the "puzzles" thing, which doesn't seem to resonate with a lot of people, I think you're getting at a certain inquisitiveness. People who say "huh, that's weird, I wonder why?"

chadcmulligan 6y ago
That's probably a better way to say it - someone with an enquiring mind, that probably fits any science/engineering related career though I suppose.