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There is some old classic paper titled The Programmers Stone. In the first chapter there is very good description of two different states of the mind - Packers

by c00p3r 18y ago

There is some old classic paper titled The Programmers Stone. In the first chapter there is very good description of two different states of the mind - Packers and Mappers. This study is about packer's brain, because mappers will try to combine expert's opinion with their own map, alter or update it when necessary, or even create a model which fills both opinions. The rest of this Programmers Stone is some kind of nonsense, but this first chapter is a must read.

mahmud 18y ago
Absolutely phenomenal find there c00p3r. The paper in question is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmer%27s_Stone http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmer%27s_Stone">here&.... Any more pointers on the psychology of programming would be nice, folks (I know there is google, but I want to crowd-source that searching and vetting ;-)
- c00p3r 18y ago
  About psychology behind programming - there are very interesting parallels - almost everything in psychotherapy is based on the usage of the language and direct communication. This means to choosing a words carefully, paying full attention to the order of the words in a sentence, simplicity an unambiguous of the sentences and adapting to and reusing the client's vocabulary. The same ideas should be applied to any texts (source code, documentation, marketing) that we're creating, because these texts, and especially the source code, are being written not for the compilers or interpreters, but for the people, same like you. It seems like XP, Refactoring and other good ideas which are based on readability and simplicity of the source code is just the reflections of the thousand years old ideas. The old sages, sutras, and stories were survived because they are easy to understand, remember and modify when necessary. There are some hints - not psychology but worth to notice: Ruby as a programming language which was developed by Japanese (East, Symbolic) mind, the 37signals which is trying to adapt Zen principles in project management, and a brilliant philosophy behind Python - simplicity but imperfection.
- MaysonL 18y ago
  Weinberg Psychology of Computer Programming recently published in 25th anniversary edition: http://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Computer-Programming-Silver-Anniversary/dp/0932633420 http://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Computer-Programming-Silver...
  - c00p3r 18y ago
    The Man-Month is enough! =) Btw, there is another 33 years old book which is still worth reading - http://www.amazon.com/Structure-Magic-About-Language-Therapy/dp/0831400447/ http://www.amazon.com/Structure-Magic-About-Language-Therapy...
    - mahmud 18y ago
      I found "abstract NLP", specially their use of Chomsky's work, a bit of a voodoo. I have worked through Bandler and Grindger with a pencil for months, and eventually became disenchanted with the faux-science aspects of NLP.
      - c00p3r 18y ago
        This book is not about NLP, it is about that language is a key, about gule-governed behavior and about understanding and modeling of this behaviour. The great idea is about using linguistic methods to understand and model a human's mind activities, which are based on language constructions. NLP itself is just a trend, an attempt to sell these theories to the masses.

by c00p3r 18y ago

mahmud 18y ago

Absolutely phenomenal find there c00p3r. The paper in question is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmer%27s_Stone http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmer%27s_Stone">here&.... Any more pointers on the psychology of programming would be nice, folks (I know there is google, but I want to crowd-source that searching and vetting ;-)

c00p3r 18y ago
About psychology behind programming - there are very interesting parallels - almost everything in psychotherapy is based on the usage of the language and direct communication. This means to choosing a words carefully, paying full attention to the order of the words in a sentence, simplicity an unambiguous of the sentences and adapting to and reusing the client's vocabulary. The same ideas should be applied to any texts (source code, documentation, marketing) that we're creating, because these texts, and especially the source code, are being written not for the compilers or interpreters, but for the people, same like you. It seems like XP, Refactoring and other good ideas which are based on readability and simplicity of the source code is just the reflections of the thousand years old ideas. The old sages, sutras, and stories were survived because they are easy to understand, remember and modify when necessary. There are some hints - not psychology but worth to notice: Ruby as a programming language which was developed by Japanese (East, Symbolic) mind, the 37signals which is trying to adapt Zen principles in project management, and a brilliant philosophy behind Python - simplicity but imperfection.
MaysonL 18y ago
Weinberg Psychology of Computer Programming recently published in 25th anniversary edition: http://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Computer-Programming-Silver-Anniversary/dp/0932633420 http://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Computer-Programming-Silver...
- c00p3r 18y ago
  The Man-Month is enough! =) Btw, there is another 33 years old book which is still worth reading - http://www.amazon.com/Structure-Magic-About-Language-Therapy/dp/0831400447/ http://www.amazon.com/Structure-Magic-About-Language-Therapy...
  - mahmud 18y ago
    I found "abstract NLP", specially their use of Chomsky's work, a bit of a voodoo. I have worked through Bandler and Grindger with a pencil for months, and eventually became disenchanted with the faux-science aspects of NLP.
    - c00p3r 18y ago
      This book is not about NLP, it is about that language is a key, about gule-governed behavior and about understanding and modeling of this behaviour. The great idea is about using linguistic methods to understand and model a human's mind activities, which are based on language constructions. NLP itself is just a trend, an attempt to sell these theories to the masses.