Subj : Re: do serious programmers have a life?
To   : comp.programming
From : gswork
Date : Mon Sep 26 2005 04:08 am


John wrote:
> >do serious programmers have a life?
>
> A life? ... as in ... 'get a life'?
>
> I hate that phrase
>
> IMO; if you have a passion and pursue your passion ... how could you
> possibly have more of a life than that?

It tells you more about the person saying it that it does about the
person to whom it is directed.

> When ever I hear somebody utter it, it's usually in regards to not being
> aware of some irrelevant pop-culture trend.

Indeed, and that is the laughable and sad truth.

Behind it is a lot of group think, fear and loathing, anxiety and
feelings of inadequacy.   Retreating to simple banality of pop-culture
is both natural (humans being 'social animals' project their lost sense
of society onto celebs and tv) and the lowest common denominator.

The only point to the saying is to recognise that there are other joys
in life you can miss out on without realising life is poorer without
them, this is especially true where the focus of your life is one
pursued compulsively without joy but not true for most folks of the
kind i think you have in mind.

> Bottom line - If a person is passionate about activity X and pursue it as an
> occupation, they will; a) have a very fulfilling life.  And b) become a
> serious player in their field.

The risk here is that they'll fulfil a and b but that neither will
afford them econmic security, it depends on what that X is really.

> If programming is not your activity X, you should either get out of
> programming and into your activity X as an occupation, or resign yourself to
> the fact that you will have an up hill climb as an "also ran".

Most people do end up in the latter because for them their X might meet
a and b but not satisfy the economics of living, or simply because they
don't have an X at all, or less horrific - in many cases they have no
X, but they do have x x x x x x x, i.e. their focus in life is diffused
over many areas)

anyway, great post

.