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Good piece, but I felt like it was a bit disjointed. Specifically, it jumped from "10X" (productivity) to "-10X" (hindering others) without much segue. I'd lo

Good piece, but I felt like it was a bit disjointed. Specifically, it jumped from "10X" (productivity) to "-10X" (hindering others) without much segue. I'd love to see more discussions of flow on HN. I'm particularly interested in the statement that Python leads to more flow for the author.

johnfn 15y ago
This is a good point. I actually trimmed this out of a larger piece, which is probably why it feels that way. I've edited the first few paragraphs to make it a little less jumpy - thanks for the comment. Aside (not directed at you): I watched the article drop from #6 all the way down to #20 in the space of a minute. Does anyone know why that might happen?
- polyfractal 15y ago
  I doubt it was your article being bumped down; it was probably the rest of the articles being bumped up. Weekday mornings are very active.
hoschi 15y ago
In my opinion APIs are also very critical for flow, beside the programming language. If I see easily what I must use/touch to get things to work, I'll be productive. In contrast to big/strange named APIs where I need to read a lot of documentation to get the idea behind.
mlob 15y ago
I think the author is misleading when he says that Python leads to more flow. Flow requires that some conditions hold, one of which is that it is just challenging enough to push conscious thoughts out. I experience flow much more in C++ than in Python, I actually enjoy the complexity. Most people don't get flow from testing because it isn't challenging enough. So what he is doing is lowering the challenge by documenting and removing what he views as "obstacles." He is on the right track, being aware of being in flow, what works for him. I imagine there will be a time when the things he mentions will actually knock him out of flow, and instead he will skip over them without thinking about them.

johnfn 15y ago

This is a good point. I actually trimmed this out of a larger piece, which is probably why it feels that way. I've edited the first few paragraphs to make it a little less jumpy - thanks for the comment. Aside (not directed at you): I watched the article drop from #6 all the way down to #20 in the space of a minute. Does anyone know why that might happen?

polyfractal 15y ago
I doubt it was your article being bumped down; it was probably the rest of the articles being bumped up. Weekday mornings are very active.

hoschi 15y ago

In my opinion APIs are also very critical for flow, beside the programming language. If I see easily what I must use/touch to get things to work, I'll be productive. In contrast to big/strange named APIs where I need to read a lot of documentation to get the idea behind.

mlob 15y ago

I think the author is misleading when he says that Python leads to more flow. Flow requires that some conditions hold, one of which is that it is just challenging enough to push conscious thoughts out. I experience flow much more in C++ than in Python, I actually enjoy the complexity. Most people don't get flow from testing because it isn't challenging enough. So what he is doing is lowering the challenge by documenting and removing what he views as "obstacles." He is on the right track, being aware of being in flow, what works for him. I imagine there will be a time when the things he mentions will actually knock him out of flow, and instead he will skip over them without thinking about them.