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I had a cab driver a couple of weeks ago. We got talking, and I said I am a developer. He said he knew some c#. He seemed slow but I humoured him - asked how he
by cturner 11y ago
I had a cab driver a couple of weeks ago. We got talking, and I said I am a developer. He said he knew some c#. He seemed slow but I humoured him - asked how he got into it. He then started talking about machine code programming on the c64 and showed an encyclopedic knowledge of the sprite system, the way to build event loops and different approaches to laying out large programs.
- charlesdm 11y agoThat's pretty awesome! Reminds me of a conversation I had with my grandfather last year - he told me did a few years of programming on IBM mainframes with punch cards in his 20s, before switching and becoming an accountant.
- jarfil 11y agoSome people with high IQ are smart enough to say "I want to be a cab driver", and do it. They probably are happier in their jobs, than many others who just do whatever "is expected" of them.
- gbog 11y agoYes, and when what's expected is starting a start-up, you get HN crowd, where someone who never tried like me often feels that starting a start-up is really overrated here. For instance, I wouldn't bet a lot on Larry Page or Mark Zuckerberg being much happier in their lives than your average immigrant taxi driver.
- SolaceQuantum 11y agoCab drivers are really some of the most interesting people. I've spoken to a cab driver that claimed to have been a refugee from a country in Africa- told me how he missed how brightly the stars shone in comparison with the light pollution of the American city. He was a reporter that got in trouble with his government and had to get out.
- gbog 11y agoSelection effect. You have much less occasions to chitchat with firemen, street cleaners, or farmers than taxi drivers.