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by sequence7 4646 days ago
Oh please. I have a theory about people who talk with patronising disdain about how programming is easy and you can do everything with open source already. Work is work, if it was all fun you wouldn't get paid for it.

If most programmers want a challenge in their day job they could try learning how to communicate or how not to assume that everyone else is an idiot or even try and improve the processes their team use so that everyone benefits.

The biggest problem I find programmers coming up against is cummunication and understanding and yet 95% of them would rather point out how their immediate coding problem isn't challenging enough to their almighty brains.

2 comments

A job being boring is just one of the reasons you might get paid to do it. Another reason could be that it's hard and that you are one of the few available for hire with the necessary skills. Then it can still be all fun (for you). I think the problem and negative spiral occurs when people have to take boring work just to pay the bills. Boring work leaves you mentally drained at the end of the day which keeps you from learning more or working on spare time projects in order to get more interesting work.

The challenge is getting into a positive spiral instead.

I guess you're assuming that I'm one of those semi-autistic types who isn't happy unless he's slugging down coffee while trying to hack the Gibson or whatever.

I'm not - the social aspect of problem solving, and especially the social aspects of requirement gathering, is the best part of my job.

> one of those semi-autistic types

This is vile. You aren't semi-autistic. You are or you aren't. And what qualities are you referring to when talking about semi-autistic? Are you referring lack of communication? Stimming?

How the fuck does stimming have anything to do with slogging down coffee while programming?

Seriously, "semi-autistic"? People like you are vile.

I did rather assume that but consider this a retraction of my assumption.