6 ms·

Coding with gumption

112 points by robheaton 14y ago

erikj54 14y ago
I read "The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and Gumption was the thing that stuck with me the most as well. I'm glad you picked up on the same point I did. I think Gumption is just the act of applied inspiration. Much the same how 37 Signals says "Inspiration is perishable", for me; Gumption is the day to day. It is taking the inspiration and the clarity and acting on it.
bwsewell 14y ago
I had to read Zen for a operations research course in college. I hated that book, but I do remember the professor beating over our heads this idea of gumption.
- cypherpunks01 14y ago
  That sounds like the worst possible book to read in a classroom! I can barely imagine how furious Pirsig would be if he were pondering that happening. I loved the book, for the record.
antoko 14y ago
I think I've read ZatAoMM 3 times, admittedly the last time was >8 years ago. I didn't even remember "Gumption", it certainly did not seem to be a major theme of the book. It is very interesting to see other people's insights into a book especially when they're so divergent from your own. I guess I should read ZatAoMM and Lila again. :)
- shiven 14y ago
  Gumption is what I remember the most about ZMM. The way I read it, the concept of Gumption felt like the backbone on which the rest of the book is built. That and "Kulturbearer". :-)
Swizec 14y ago
Great post! Guess I'll have to include a section on Gumption in my book. Thanks for the idea. Anyway, I have now heard about the zen of motorcycle maintenance so often, I'm starting to think I should read it even though I have no motorcycle, no workshop and as much practical skills as Clarkson. But I did once sew on a button. I was very proud.
- antoko 14y ago
  It isn't really about motorcycle maintenance. Pirsig uses that as a common example in various places throughout the book. Its actually a philosophical novel, the subtitle is "An Inquiry into Values" His later work Lila - is similarly subtitled "An Inquiry into Morals" I highly recommend them both. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_Maintenance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_M... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lila:_An_Inquiry_into_Morals http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lila:_An_Inquiry_into_Morals
  - waterlesscloud 14y ago
    I wonder if people still read it or if it's mostly something for people who were alive in the 70s?
    - antoko 14y ago
      Did the people from the 70s forget how to read now its 2013? ;) I was born in '79 so although I was alive in 70s I wasn't really part of the whole free love movement or anything :) I'm not sure its even that popular of a book for that cohort... I mean its a philosophical novel, what's the size of that market ever been? There are certainly some things addressed in the book that aren't as applicable in a modern setting but the main thrust of the book investigates the intrinsic value or quality of things - That should always be applicable to future generations.
    - taejo 14y ago
      When I read it, I was a young teenager in the 2000s. It was engrossing and mind-expanding, though perhaps I was more interested in 70s ideas than most.
scotch_drinker 14y ago
Gumption seems related to the idea of flow from the book of the same name. Being aware of your state of mind and staying totally focused on the task at hand enables you to truly enjoy your work. I think it's time to read Zen.
agentultra 14y ago
"A person filled with gumption doesn't sit around dissipating and stewing about things. He's at the front of the train of his own awareness, watching to see what's up the track and meeting it when it comes. That's gumption." I'm not sure I understand what this means. It sounds to me like gumption is a lack of foresight and planning. As I get older this sort of state is ever more difficult to achieve. And for the most part I avoid it. I used to tackle problems by opening up my editor and getting some code in there as soon as possible. Before I had even fully considered the problem and its base cases I was throwing code at my compiler/interpreter and working out mistakes as I went. I could spend hours like this without being interrupted or missing a beat. I've come to believe that some people call this, "flow." I call it, "shotgun programming." These days I find myself spending more time writing notes and thinking about the problem before I put my hands on a keyboard. I know the base cases before I begin to think about how to implement the solution and I write tests for them before anything else. In the end I write far less code than I used to and fix fewer bugs. But I never really feel like I am in the flow or programming with gumption. How else can one avoid, "gumption traps?" I guess I've left one too many assembly rods on the shop floor over the years to be bothered to rush into it.
- 1123581321 14y ago
  Isn't your method of working exactly what he described in the entire essay? By being in front, he means getting into the careful, thoughtful work instead of the fake-thoughtful work of obsessing over which library to start using, staring at code without actually thinking about it, etc.
  - agentultra 14y ago
    I thought perhaps it might be but the traps he discusses near the end don't seem to agree. Careful planning and consideration would have avoided the mistake of forgetting the rod in the first place. The engine analogy is weak but in software you'd write the checks and balances into your process so that you couldn't forget the rod (good design principles, automated software testing). Perhaps it was also the wording in the opening paragraphs which threw me off the most. I often find myself drifting off into space while I whittle away the problem in my head. Then I get down to the base cases, tests, and once I am satisfied I will begin writing code. The doesn't sound to me like like being at the front of anything. I think I get the gist of it but I just wasn't clear one way or the other which way the author was leaning.
jamesk14022 14y ago
"To create code you will require expertise; this is readily available on StackOverflow. But without gumption, there can be no code or product." Perfect.
- jeffdavis 14y ago
  I'm beginning to wonder: is it possible to write inspirational, motivational prose without making ridiculously false and insulting statements? The author has clearly not found a way.
mooreds 14y ago
What a great great post. Sorry, no witty comments to add.
nu2ycombinator 14y ago
This is a good self help programmer article.
endlessvoid94 14y ago
There's a ton from that book that applies to coding. Highly recommended.
moron4hire 14y ago
Call it bravery, or confidence, but it is absolutely essential to making progress in anything. You can see its antithesis in bad code. Bad programmers leave old code commented out instead of deleting it, lacking confidence that they understand the task well enough to know that their new code performs sufficiently. Bad programmers copy pasta instead of abstracting and reusing, lacking the bravery to change code that works and potentially breaking it, lacking confidence to know that they can fix it. I tell all my intern intends to "code forth bravely".

112 points by robheaton 14y ago

I read "The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and Gumption was the thing that stuck with me the most as well. I'm glad you picked up on the same point I did. I think Gumption is just the act of applied inspiration. Much the same how 37 Signals says "Inspiration is perishable", for me; Gumption is the day to day. It is taking the inspiration and the clarity and acting on it.

bwsewell 14y ago

I had to read Zen for a operations research course in college. I hated that book, but I do remember the professor beating over our heads this idea of gumption.

cypherpunks01 14y ago
That sounds like the worst possible book to read in a classroom! I can barely imagine how furious Pirsig would be if he were pondering that happening. I loved the book, for the record.

antoko 14y ago

I think I've read ZatAoMM 3 times, admittedly the last time was >8 years ago. I didn't even remember "Gumption", it certainly did not seem to be a major theme of the book. It is very interesting to see other people's insights into a book especially when they're so divergent from your own. I guess I should read ZatAoMM and Lila again. :)

shiven 14y ago
Gumption is what I remember the most about ZMM. The way I read it, the concept of Gumption felt like the backbone on which the rest of the book is built. That and "Kulturbearer". :-)

Swizec 14y ago

Great post! Guess I'll have to include a section on Gumption in my book. Thanks for the idea. Anyway, I have now heard about the zen of motorcycle maintenance so often, I'm starting to think I should read it even though I have no motorcycle, no workshop and as much practical skills as Clarkson. But I did once sew on a button. I was very proud.

antoko 14y ago
It isn't really about motorcycle maintenance. Pirsig uses that as a common example in various places throughout the book. Its actually a philosophical novel, the subtitle is "An Inquiry into Values" His later work Lila - is similarly subtitled "An Inquiry into Morals" I highly recommend them both. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_Maintenance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_M... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lila:_An_Inquiry_into_Morals http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lila:_An_Inquiry_into_Morals
- waterlesscloud 14y ago
  I wonder if people still read it or if it's mostly something for people who were alive in the 70s?
  - antoko 14y ago
    Did the people from the 70s forget how to read now its 2013? ;) I was born in '79 so although I was alive in 70s I wasn't really part of the whole free love movement or anything :) I'm not sure its even that popular of a book for that cohort... I mean its a philosophical novel, what's the size of that market ever been? There are certainly some things addressed in the book that aren't as applicable in a modern setting but the main thrust of the book investigates the intrinsic value or quality of things - That should always be applicable to future generations.
  - taejo 14y ago
    When I read it, I was a young teenager in the 2000s. It was engrossing and mind-expanding, though perhaps I was more interested in 70s ideas than most.

scotch_drinker 14y ago

Gumption seems related to the idea of flow from the book of the same name. Being aware of your state of mind and staying totally focused on the task at hand enables you to truly enjoy your work. I think it's time to read Zen.

agentultra 14y ago

"A person filled with gumption doesn't sit around dissipating and stewing about things. He's at the front of the train of his own awareness, watching to see what's up the track and meeting it when it comes. That's gumption." I'm not sure I understand what this means. It sounds to me like gumption is a lack of foresight and planning. As I get older this sort of state is ever more difficult to achieve. And for the most part I avoid it. I used to tackle problems by opening up my editor and getting some code in there as soon as possible. Before I had even fully considered the problem and its base cases I was throwing code at my compiler/interpreter and working out mistakes as I went. I could spend hours like this without being interrupted or missing a beat. I've come to believe that some people call this, "flow." I call it, "shotgun programming." These days I find myself spending more time writing notes and thinking about the problem before I put my hands on a keyboard. I know the base cases before I begin to think about how to implement the solution and I write tests for them before anything else. In the end I write far less code than I used to and fix fewer bugs. But I never really feel like I am in the flow or programming with gumption. How else can one avoid, "gumption traps?" I guess I've left one too many assembly rods on the shop floor over the years to be bothered to rush into it.

1123581321 14y ago
Isn't your method of working exactly what he described in the entire essay? By being in front, he means getting into the careful, thoughtful work instead of the fake-thoughtful work of obsessing over which library to start using, staring at code without actually thinking about it, etc.
- agentultra 14y ago
  I thought perhaps it might be but the traps he discusses near the end don't seem to agree. Careful planning and consideration would have avoided the mistake of forgetting the rod in the first place. The engine analogy is weak but in software you'd write the checks and balances into your process so that you couldn't forget the rod (good design principles, automated software testing). Perhaps it was also the wording in the opening paragraphs which threw me off the most. I often find myself drifting off into space while I whittle away the problem in my head. Then I get down to the base cases, tests, and once I am satisfied I will begin writing code. The doesn't sound to me like like being at the front of anything. I think I get the gist of it but I just wasn't clear one way or the other which way the author was leaning.

jamesk14022 14y ago

"To create code you will require expertise; this is readily available on StackOverflow. But without gumption, there can be no code or product." Perfect.

jeffdavis 14y ago
I'm beginning to wonder: is it possible to write inspirational, motivational prose without making ridiculously false and insulting statements? The author has clearly not found a way.

mooreds 14y ago

What a great great post. Sorry, no witty comments to add.

nu2ycombinator 14y ago

This is a good self help programmer article.

endlessvoid94 14y ago

There's a ton from that book that applies to coding. Highly recommended.

moron4hire 14y ago

Call it bravery, or confidence, but it is absolutely essential to making progress in anything. You can see its antithesis in bad code. Bad programmers leave old code commented out instead of deleting it, lacking confidence that they understand the task well enough to know that their new code performs sufficiently. Bad programmers copy pasta instead of abstracting and reusing, lacking the bravery to change code that works and potentially breaking it, lacking confidence to know that they can fix it. I tell all my intern intends to "code forth bravely".