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Essay on Aeon, "Coding is not ‘fun’, it’s technically and ethically complex" by Walter Vanini: [^]Quote: Unfortunately, this rosy portrait bears no relation to reality. For starters, the profile of a programmer’s mind is pretty uncommon. As well as being highly analytical and creative, software developers need almost superhuman focus to manage the complexity of their tasks. Manic attention to detail is a must; slovenliness is verboten. Attaining this level of concentration requires a state of mind called being ‘in the flow’, a quasi-symbiotic relationship between human and machine that improves performance and motivation.
I find many articles on Aeon fascinating, but this article leaves me with the kind of feeling I have looking at road-kill too closely, so, of course, I want to share that with you.
imho, it is absurd to speak of the ethics of coding beyond the usual concerns involving any intellectual property (ownership, plagariasm, theft, etc.), or the usual concerns around employment (exploitation, fair/unfair compensation, etc.); the ethical "dimensions" are in the context in which programming occurs, the ultimate purpose of the code, the intentions of its creators and owners, the actions of its users or owners vis-à-vis others.
Once upon a time (1983), this derelict who writes to you now created and ran a "computer education" program (Apple II's, Apple dot-matrix printers) for the French-American Bilingual School in San Francisco for one academic year (and one year was enough contact with kids below the age of 12 to last me a lifetime). Yes, those kids had fun; fun creating "Turtle dances" in LOGO and then actually dancing to them to music; yes, some had fun creating programs to create graphics like spirographs, and Mandelbrot sets, and such. And, many did not have "fun" in spite of my best efforts, but found using the computer challenging in some way. But, after tall, compared to today, that pre-Internet time is virtually a technological stone-age. There were bulletin-boards around, and, in fact, one kid at school used his dad's computer to somehow find a list of uncensored bay area bulletin boards, some of which had names like "KillerToilets," and brought copies of that list to school which caused a certain scandal, and I had parents coming to see me about that. Also of interest during that year was the a group of parents banding together to demand I teach BASIC, as well as LOGO (I agreed with them, and, in fact, was planning to do so).
While in my "native language and culture" (Corporate Occupied MallburgerLand aka "USA") the word "fun" may indeed have a somewhat belittling, diminutive, connotation (depending on how it's used in context), other cultures may not share such deprecation (in Thai the word "sanuk" is a key cultural meme, and it means much more than "casual" fun).
So my peers, and mentors, what say you: programming is "fun"" ... or not ?
«There is a spectrum, from "clearly desirable behaviour," to "possibly dodgy behavior that still makes some sense," to "clearly undesirable behavior." We try to make the latter into warnings or, better, errors. But stuff that is in the middle category you don’t want to restrict unless there is a clear way to work around it.» Eric Lippert, May 14, 2008
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Yes it is fun... otherwise I could not have done it for 41 years and counting!
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Forogar wrote: otherwise I could not have done it for 41 years and counting!
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Coding is fun, but it's much more fun to work the word 'slovenliness' into a sentence.
"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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"techno-plutocracy that’s insulating itself behind its own technology" IS funny.
I feel a digital revolution coming up.
modified 20-Oct-19 21:02pm.
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Programming is work. If you are a hobbyist then it is fun, I guess.
I enjoy programming. It is how I make a living, and I enjoy it, but it is seldom "fun".
With that said, working on side projects etc. for my own enjoyment, can be fun, not always.
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Playing with dogs and cats is fun. Watching Bilko is fun. Stolen afternoons in the pub are fun.
Coding is not fun. It may be enjoyable but it is not - in any way, shape or form - fun.
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I think Walter Vanini might be overstating things a bit. It's not that hard, but then nothing is if people have an interest in what they are doing. That said, the problem you might be trying to solve can be.
I like coding, what ruins it is people banging on about SOLID, or the gang of four, creating new and tedious patterns every day. Good cooks don't need recipe books! Also, so much emphasis is on the process (agile etc.) these days. I haven't noticed the quality of software go up since it's become common practice to stand up like lemons in a circle each morning.
So in short, probably far more fun as a hobby or under your own rules than as a profession.
Regards,
Rob Philpott.
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Most of all of the coding I do is for my own use in computer repair and now malware reverse enginerring.
I think I woun’t describe it as fun.
More like challageing, aggrivating, on occasion satisfying when you finally figured out something tricky.
When I am “In the Zone” I can do some pretty complicated coding, when not I may as well just throw rocks at the screen.
Coding is not “Fun” nor is it for everyone.
I’m also C/C++ compiler challanged.
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The problem is that it can be both.
For me, as a kid it was a "fun" enough hobby to turn into a profession, and had always felt back then I had an advantage over my fellow students who couldn't decide what they wanted to do for a living. For years, after a hard day's work coding for the company I worked for, I couldn't wait to come back home to...code some more on my own pet projects until bedtime, and I loved having entire weekends that could be dedicated to them.
The risk is when the job starts bleeding into the hobby. I still love to code and I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else, but after a few decades, the passion for my own pet projects has disappeared and for years now my evenings/weekends have been spent doing anything but coding. If my pet projects paid the bills or I didn't have to worry about money, I'd be quitting my job and working full-time on them. Right now, the way I see it, I'll be retired before I go back to my pet projects.
That's either called growing old, or burning out. I'm not sure yet which is it in my case.
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I've always considered programming to be fun, but as life got more complicated and I found less time to really dig into developing an app, it evolved into something more akin to torture. Having only minutes to work on a project for a bit before the next interruption precludes slipping into that pleasant zone where the outside world ceases to matter, and the creative juices are in full flow. I miss it - both programming, and the time to pursue it properly.
Will Rogers never met me.
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So I like putting lots of raisins into oatmeal. Opening a new extra large bag of raisins (2lbs=907g) I extracted a handful or so an tossed them into the bowl. So far, so good.
I began to close the Stay-Fresh zip-lock seal for the bag. Then it happened. Forget about a bag of grapes, we're talking raisins here.
Is it possible to have fresh raisins? What the hell does that mean?
An oxymoron at best. How long can this go on? Is such package labeling allowed in the EU, or do they label it 'not quite fresh raisins' or something like that?
There goes my day.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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W∴ Balboos wrote: Is it possible to have fresh raisins?
Yes - Raisins can be more or less dry! 
Apart from that, I can't imagine why you'd put them in anything. The ONLY acceptable consumation method for raisins is to throw them directly into the mouth. Everything else spoils both the raisins and the food they are put into! 
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
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I'd just like a chance to prove that money can't make me happy.
Me, all the time
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Implicit down-vote for lack of imagination.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Johnny J. wrote: Everything else spoils both the raisins and the food they are put into!
I love cinnamon raisin bread...more than plain raisins by themselves. 
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ESPECIALLY in bread - raisins have NO PLACE there!
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
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I'd just like a chance to prove that money can't make me happy.
Me, all the time
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Ye from the land of Lutefisk (as my father is) has no right to criticize others' taste. 
"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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I love cinnamon. I love raisins. Cinnamon raisin bread is almost like a drug for me.
GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP. -- TNCaver
When I was six, there were no ones and zeroes - only zeroes. And not all of them worked. -- Ravi Bhavnani
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Implicit pity for lack of Christmas pudding.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Yes, raisins should have some moisture content... if left out, they become suitable fuel for miniature slingshots.
My family has taken to buying green grapes, slicing them in half, putting the halves on a dehydrator and thereby making our own grapes. They get put in zip-lock bags for later consumption.
We also dehydrate apples, plums, strawberries, cranberries, pineapple and mango.
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That still doesn't change the fact that by its very nature a raisin cannot be fresh. When it was fresh it was a grape (or half grape in your methodology).
Had the package been labeled "Stay Moist" I'd not have given it excessive consideration.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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But, it is no longer a grape; now it is a raisin. Once turned into a raisin it can dry out and become stale. So yes, there is such a thing as a fresh raisin.
Just because the code works, it doesn't mean that it is good code.
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Illogical logic -> just because something can get dried out and stale doesn't mean it's fresh.
Dried out - loss of some or all of it's original moisture content
Stale - unfit for eating (stale does not necessarily imply dried out) due to a loss of acceptable taste properties.
vs. spoiled or rotten, which can include either, neither, or both of the above.
BUT NONE of these states implies that the source is a "fresh" anything.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Not true.
While a raisin is no longer a fresh grape, it can be said to be freshly raisined, and therefore a 'fresh' grape. At which point in its voyage to become slingshot ammo it will cease to be 'fresh' but I know not how to define that point.
Along the same lines, I have trouble determining when sour cream has gone sour...
Will Rogers never met me.
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