Did programming change the way you think? - Overclock.net

Licht · 02-06-08

Some of you might think this is a silly question however it was brought up in another thread. I started at 12 with a spinoff of Lua, anymore everything i see (programs, things not even on the PC) i am constantly thinking how i could code it. What kind of glitches could occur, things like that. It changed how i think and perceive things, i know at that age your mind is highly flexible and if any of you are familiar with how learning multiple languages at that age benefits your cognitive abilities greatly i am sure said people will understand.

So the main question : Am i just weird or is this normal to think in code so to say?

xdaseinx · 02-06-08

It does. I really believe that. For instance when I'm coding, I am in a high state of awareness, and often times I'll get cranky if someone breaks my concentration. When I do SQL, it takes me a few moments to get my brain to think in code when switching back to C/C++, java, etc. Coding is akin to doing very difficult puzzles for hours on end. It definitely increases your awareness and you intelligence. Anyone can code, but very few people do it well, and I notice there are a lot of personality characteristics are similar to people who code really well. The first being that most good developers lack the ability to feel empathy toward other human beings. They're very much ego driven and sure of themselves. If you had to put it in one sentence, coders are sociopaths that don't commit crimes.

mrsmoke · 02-06-08

that happened to me when i started web design and coding and i would rewrite code from random websites i visit in my head...you will get over it lol

Licht · 02-06-08

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrsmoke

that happened to me when i started web design and coding and i would rewrite code from random websites i visit in my head...you will get over it lol

Its been years, isn't changing lol.

Quote:

It does. I really believe that. For instance when I'm coding, I am in a high state of awareness, and often times I'll get cranky if someone breaks my concentration. When I do SQL, it takes me a few moments to get my brain to think in code when switching back to C/C++, java, etc. Coding is akin to doing very difficult puzzles for hours on end. It definitely increases your awareness and you intelligence. Anyone can code, but very few people do it well, and I notice there are a lot of personality characteristics are similar to people who code really well. The first being that most good developers lack the ability to feel empathy toward other human beings. They're very much ego driven and sure of themselves. If you had to put it in one sentence, coders are sociopaths that don't commit crimes.

*Raises hand.*

Malin726 · 02-06-08

Computer programming uses a different concept of thinking which is spectacular. A wise man once asked me how do you put an elephant into a refridgerator?.................................... .Open the door put in the elephant, close the door. How do you put a Giraffe into the fridge?...........................Open door, take out elephant, put in giraffe, close the door. And so on, that type of thinking is not typical of any everyday activity (most). So many people have told me, Aaron I don't know how you can program for so many years, but I think more people would be apt to the know how if the understood the type of thinking it requires.

Aaron Malin

pauldovi · 02-06-08

I started computer programming last semester with a class in C (Introduction to Programming for Engineers). I am now taking CS225 (Java).

I caught on to programming pretty quick, and I would say that I am pretty good at it. I also enjoy doing it.

I don't think programming changed the way I think. My mind already worked in a "boolean" sense, which made programming very natural for me. However since programming, I have had a heightened sense of awareness I think. Programming is a great mind twister game, and the ultimate problem solving game!

hometoast · 02-06-08

Quote:

Originally Posted by xdaseinx

(1)The first being that most good developers lack the ability to feel empathy toward other human beings. (2)They're very much ego driven and sure of themselves. (3)If you had to put it in one sentence, coders are sociopaths that don't commit crimes.

I'd disagree with (1) and (2) completely. I've seen lots of egotistical bastards but they're really the minority -- loud minority but still a minority.

And I had to steal 3 for my sig!

I've been programming at some level since I was 9 in 1985. Maybe I'm a freak of nature but I think my brain already worked that way. So I'd say I don't think any differently, but I can say for sure that programmers do think different than the rest of the population.

nugget · 02-06-08

Nope hasnt changed the way i think at all

Zeus · 02-13-08

Its changed the way I think....

Scriptorum · 02-13-08

I've been programming for 25 years and I can't say for sure that it's changed me, since I was just a kid when I started, but it seems likely. I know that I'm a very literal person, often to the annoyance of others.

Several jobs ago, my coworkers used to end their sentences with the word "literally," because they knew how much it peeved me to hear that word misused. "I literally blew my top!" Really. Blew your top. Is it a tasty fabric?

I completely disagree with xdaseinx's premise that good developers lack empathy. Some of the best coders I've ever known were very social, thoughtful people. I have also known selfish, ego-driven coders, but they were generally better programmers in their own minds than in reality.

Just my opinion.

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Did programming change the way you think?

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