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The quote by Paul Morphy, one of the great old chess masters, seems relevant here - "The ability to play chess is the sign of a gentleman. The ability to play c
by PeterisP 4y ago
The quote by Paul Morphy, one of the great old chess masters, seems relevant here - "The ability to play chess is the sign of a gentleman. The ability to play chess well is the sign of a wasted life."
- amelius 4y agoI hope it doesn't apply to coding too.
- PeterisP 4y agoPerhaps you might say something like that for e.g. competitive coding or leetcode.
- ctxc 4y agoCode golfing!
- kamaal 4y ago>>competitive coding or leetcode Absolutely yes. There is a big difference between inventing solutions to novel problems, and being 75,386th person to solve a problem on a website. The latter just makes you a sophisticated newspaper daily puzzle solver.
- bosie 4y ago> There is a big difference between inventing solutions to novel problems, how many programmers/software developers can claim to inventing solutions to novel problems though? 0.01%? less?
- camjohnson26 4y agoI think it’s because both systems are bounded and cut out a lot of real world complexity, and since these simplified systems are easier to understand than the real world the certainty and confidence they provide become addictive. Similar to video games in that way. It’s not necessarily a bad thing though because we’re always working with a simplified system whatever we’re doing in life, the question is just how much is it helping people. Chess provides entertainment and personal challenge, coding provides ridiculous productivity. All things in moderation though.
- moonchrome 4y agoI don't think that ability to code is a sign of a gentleman
- jodrellblank 4y agoThe Wikipedia page on Paul Morphy says he gave up chess age 22, tried to establish a law firm, all his clients wanted to talk to him about chess instead of legal matters, and he ended up living a life of idleness on his family's fortune. That seems to put the quote in a different context.