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I had a former supervisor equate programming to juggling - many balls in the air at a given time. I know that's nothing new, but it fits. You tear into a problem, unwire the code, then string it back together. We all know the pain of distractions while the code is unwired, while many balls are in the air. OK, what got me thinking this morning was Christian Graus's New Guitar post. I was wondering if a collection of programmers is more likely to relate to a new guitar post than other communities. I relate. I'm not an accomplished musician, but I play. My guitar sits right next to my computer. I often back away from the keyboard and strum/pick a tune to work my way out of a rut. Is there something that might make a musician more likely to be a computer person, or visa-versa. Of course we know music is mathematical and programming certainly has a mathematical component, but I don't think that's it. For me it's the balls-in-the-air aspect. Fun music for me is playing my banjo or guitar in a jam session with other players. When I don't know the song, I'll look at a guitar player's hands to see what chords they are making, then play the same chord structure on my Banjo. So see a guitar G, play a banjo G is the first translation. Sometimes the banjo is tuned in C and capoed to a D, which requires another translation. So, the guitar player is playing a G, I need to be playing around G, I'm tuned in C, but capoed to D, better play an F shape. That's going on at the speed of the music. That's music's balls-in-the-air situation. So there's my thesis. Music and programming both involve trying to hang on to several things at once, and that's why you find so many programmers are also musicians.
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I don't think programming has the immediacy of the activities you mention. As such, maybe there isn't the thrill either.
If you also read the thread about medieval coding, a comparison was made to construction work.
P.S. I am definitely not musical and I am inept at juggling. The best I can juggle is to bounce (three) lacrosse balls on the floor, which I think most people consider an advanced technique. I find it much easier than trying to juggle in the air.
modified 8-Nov-23 12:13pm.
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Maybe the programmer and luthier have more in common than the programmer and the musician! Sometimes I feel more like the luthier, and sometimes the musician.
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Compare it to the real music which comes from the mouth of a strict manager when a critical deadline is tomorrow, and your team has to still fix three critical bugs.
modified 8-Nov-23 11:35am.
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Amarnath S wrote: music which comes from the mouth of a strict manager
(Yoko Ono.)
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I think that learning music does have an impact on the mathematical (logical?) side of the brain. Anecdotally, many people in my engineering classes in college, and many work colleagues have a musical background. I am not sure if it relates to Balls-In-The-Air, as much as perhaps, critical thinking and problem solving.
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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BBar2 wrote: When I don't know the song, I'll look at a guitar player's hands to see what chords they are making
Except of course then that is team project rather than an individual project.
You can certainly compare it to a duo (or more) that juggles though.
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Pair Programming is like when two people play the same violin at the same time?
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I suspect so!
Of course pundits would claim it sounds 'better' without providing measurements and while ignoring how much it costs.
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Not sure if serious. . .
I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated.
I’m begging you for the benefit of everyone, don’t be STUPID.
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Hard to take pair programming seriously.
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Music - balls in the air - Don't know about that, not a music person.
Programming - balls in the vice - Yes, that's something I know 
Mircea
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music - organization of sounds and pauses into a harmonious composition
programming - organization of data and conditions into a purposeful algorithm
"balls in the air" not so much a meaningful description of either
"A little time, a little trouble, your better day"
Badfinger
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Please forgive my loose Balls-In-The-Air metaphor (or is it a simile?).
Maybe jeron1 was onto something with: Quote: not sure if it relates to Balls-In-The-Air, as much as perhaps, critical thinking and problem solving.
Maybe a KISS approach to this question is better. Are programmers (technology professionals, ..) more likely to be musicians? If so, why?
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I can hold 5 simulataneous conversations about different problems with 5 different people, and am currently working 6 problems with a site I work on and 2 other applications. That's what I call juggling.
Music and actual juggling, not so much. I'm far better at the keyboard and mouse version.
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Dave Kreskowiak wrote: I can hold 5 simulataneous conversations about different problems with 5 different people,
I didn't know you were spanish or italian...  
I thought we were (until I read your post) the only ones that can have 4 people sitting together and having 3 different conversations at once.
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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I can't play instruments, but I love music.
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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When I am in a band I tell them, don't count how many times the chorus is at the end. Play like a band. Interact. If I stretch out a solo, follow me. We had a vocalist mess up her cues and I told her, we don't care, come in when you want and we will follow you. That's what a band is
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There is definitely a correlation between being a good natural programmer and being a good musician - although not absolute. A program is a symphony of code that needs to have a good overall design and a good, efficient implementation.
And oh, the most important note in music is C. 
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Never really though about the programming music link before, on my last contract there were three programmers and all played guitar.
In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity. - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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I think there's a similarity, but a lot of it may be related to balancing choices rather than a fixed arithmetical one. There are a lot of ways to structure a program- favoring clarity or modularity over speed, etc, and you make choices balancing things out. Same with phrasing, harmonization, tempo, microtuning- whatever. Choices you make lead to different results. If you're playing with other people you need to adjust so things work together.
Jam sessions are fun. I've been a substitute string bass player at contradances where I don't know half their tunes. Just tell me the key and I'll watch the guitar player's left hand. Even stranger has been playing 1-key wood flute in Celtic jams. I found I was watching the fiddle player's left hand. 2nd finger -there- on the A string means it's a C, so I put down the middle and ring fingers on my left hand. I wasn't thinking of how to do this, then realized that I was translating from a 4-string instrument tuned in 5ths to a woodwind instrument that overblows at the octave, where different combinations of 7 fingers give you all the notes. (and in some cases an a-flat has a different fingering than g-sharp!, etc)
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Fiddle to woodwind translation. That's too much fun.
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Thought of this story today...
I joined a company as a Dev in 2000. They said the previous dev had left because he was overwhelmed with the C++ code he was writing which used COM to speak to a hardware device.
They told me, he left in a hurry and told everyone "do not contact me".
I was afraid to look at the code.
Digging Into Dev's Code
Then I dug in and I discovered the most beautiful code I'd ever seen.
It was self-explanatory code & I learned new techniques. It was amazing.
I didn't have to do much and I got the code working.
1000 Mile Journey
That developer had been on a 1000 mile journey and gave up inches away from success. Still blows my mind.
And, even after all these years, I remember that code as some of the best I've ever seen to this day.
One of my favorite quotes is
let me tell you the secret that led me to my goal. My sole strength is in my tenacity.
I hardly know anything but I have the weird ability to try a (technology) thing 1,000 times and not get bored or give up entirely.
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Something I learned from my father, finish the job.
Now I say, "I may not be the strongest, I may not be the fastest, but I WILL outlast you."
Having completion issues doesn't hurt either, except when I change the channel just before bed and catch the beginning of a movie.
I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated.
I’m begging you for the benefit of everyone, don’t be STUPID.
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Quote: Having completion issues doesn't hurt either, except when I change the channel just before bed and catch the beginning of a movie.
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