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While writing & editing code, and only while doing that, I have a tic that looks insane to onlookers. The last comment I received was “Why the hell are you tapp
by DecoPerson 5y ago
While writing & editing code, and only while doing that, I have a tic that looks insane to onlookers. The last comment I received was “Why the hell are you tapping the caps-lock key non-stop?”
I don’t know why I do it. It helps me think, though. Maybe any of the keys on the keyboard would satisfy my cravings to tap a key repeatedly, but I unconsciously chose capslock because it’s mostly benign to press. Perhaps it’s the toggling of the capslock state that tickles my neurons? I don’t know!
Similarly, I felt very strongly about the contents of my clipboard while doing any input on a real keyboard , until I discovered IntelliJ’s clipboard history feature (Ctrl+Shift+V) and more broadly Window’s terrible but sufficiently functional version (Win+V).
The emotions I felt about clipboard contents were intense. I had to have something small, succinct, and simple in my clipboard like a single word, so that I could spam Ctrl+V and Ctrl+Z constantly without consequence, just like my capslock tic.
I do wonder if my fidgeting helped me learn editor shortcuts, because while I’m never quick enough to meet my own editing-speed goals, my editor fu earned me the title of “Text Wizard” at one company. It’s fun blowing peoples’ minds by smoothly executing a column-based edit on thousands of lines of data, saving them potentially hours of manual editing.
Aside: A coworker once called a one-line regex a “dark incantation,” and a forty-line regex I wrote on someone else’s’ PC earned the title of “Cthulhu’s Lullaby.” Good text editing skills is a superpower in our age (for many but obviously not all occupations).
- yepthatsreality 5y agoThe tapping is from anxiety. You’re defaulting to a common action. Some people chew their finger nails, some use a fidget spinner. If you want to stop, identify when you’re doing the habit and catch and control yourself, relax, and identify the anxiety.
- johnchristopher 5y agoI read once some intelligent people still have some process cycles left when working out code and it's uneasing to them so their brains automatically adds another soothing activities to fill the void. For one of my coworker it was either whistling, feet tapping or pen clicking. To the point that another coworker regularly stand up from his chair, walked to him and put a spongy stress ball in his hands. Without saying a word, was funny the first time :D.
- throwaway0a5e 5y agoOr it's just a habit. Not everything needs to be the result of some implied mental health problem.
- yepthatsreality 5y agoAt which point did I indicate there was a mental health problem? Everyone has anxiety and it manifests in different forms and eventually can be habitual.
- specialist 5y agoTrue. I just fidget. A lot. I have to concentrate to sit still (meetings are torture). When I'm thinking about a problem, my mental budget is redirected to problem solving, so my fidget inhibiting stops. Drives a lot of people nuts. Whatever. Go sit somewhere else. I'm sitting over here, away from everyone, minding my own business. I didn't ask you to sit near me. Everyone's different. Some people hum. Some people "talk aloud" (my kryptonite). Some people do zen flow state. I like to dance, so I put in the ear buds and jam.