Came across an article where the question was asked whether software developers are naturally weird. That is a tough question. When you examine our occupation its not hard to see that it’s very difficult to be a software developer. It’s down right exhausting, irritating, and puts us in a constant state of tension trying to create works of art at fast-food speeds.
I suppose a programmer that seeds in little comments here and there of song lyrics in the code seems like a lesser evil than say a disenfranchised employee coming in and shooting up the place. Programming at it’s most basic state is equivalent to writing a novel every day, not even a novel you might be interested in, but a novel none the less. It’s constantly coming back day and day again and writing more paragraphs. Even writers get writers blocks, and at least get to pick the stories they’re interested in working on. Software developers have to sit down and work on a book someone else is dictating to us, and they expect it to be a totally flawless story written exactly how the end user pictures it.
Day in and day out we’re writing another chapter, fixing a paragraph here and there, and worse yet sometimes have to edit another persons story. That’s the worst part when working on someone else’s contribution because maybe they were spinning off the story in a totally different way than they should have. Basically have to go back in, figure out the plot, and start fresh with a new middle or end. To top it off some stories require you use a different typewriter (language) so you’re constantly changing the equipment used to write these stories. We’re like doctors in that we constantly have to train until the day we leave the practice on new techniques and procedures, but without the glory or the respect.
Yah, i suppose we’d have to be weird to put ourselves into this position. A persons natural approach to things beyond their control is to either laugh or cry about it. I think as a profession we tend to take the humor approach by creating humor that others of our own types can take solace in. A funny saying here or there, seeding in a special action if someone searches for “Chuck Norris” on a site (not naming names here), or even song lyrics near code that should be written so clear real comments were not even necessary..
I suppose yes, we are a little weird, but at the same time we’re able to do something most people cant. I think we deal with our stress by approaching life and work with a greater sense of humor than any other profession. Those who can’t see this probably spend too much of their day taking things a little too seriously for their own good. Still there is a balance in that we can be quirky and funny here and there, but we’re still professionals. There are times to act professional.
Programming, Offbeat