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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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Something that particularly irks my wife (but me too) is that in schools these days (in the UK at least) there is no incentive to "finish" anything. If time runs out, kids get marks for effort, or based on what they've done so far. That's fine, but there is then no requirement to complete the task in their own time. This happens over, and over, and over again and children learn that it doesn't matter if things don't get finished. We see it creeping into politics too; e.g. a new policy is introduced, but before implementation is finished or results visible it gets changed; but the one who started it off gets the praise anyway. We see the results all around; unfinished projects, or products with great potential but not properly finished, or great marketing ideas released without anyone bothering to proof-read.
But the worst thing? People never get to experience that feeling when you can finally put your feet up and admire a job well done and take pride in it.
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Not only UK...
In Spain they get to the next class even if they didn't pass the exams (because to sit / repeat a year can be a traumatic experience...  )
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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Spot on Derek 
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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Some places here in the states have a "no grade below a 50" edict. Kid can turn NOTHING in and get half credit.
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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Stick-to-it-iveness wins the day.
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agree. gold
"A little time, a little trouble, your better day"
Badfinger
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What surprises me is that someone who can write some of the best code you've ever seen didn't recognize his own ability. Perhaps he's among the apparently not-so-small group that are high performers yet secretly believe that they're actually incompetent and that their world will come crashing down once people realize it.
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Greg Utas wrote: group that are high performers yet secretly believe that they're actually incompetent and that their world will come crashing down once people realize it.
It's called "impostor syndrome"[^] and my daughter is suffering from it: an over-achiever who is permanently certain that everyone else in the room is smarter and knows more than her. I don't know where she got this from. Me, on the other side.... 
Mircea
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And it might be a huge burden if not watching out.
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 agree. I was mind-boggled. Maybe he just made an excuse to leave the company??
The code was absolutely beautiful.
Great use of classes that made it easy to see what he was doing.
Used some C++ define macros but they were so clear and actually made things better.
Just really great code.
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Greg Utas wrote: he's among the apparently not-so-small group that are high performers yet secretly believe that they're actually incompetent
This sentiment deeply resonates with me. I have no college degrees, have no published books, and have little recognized public domain work. Being surrounded by brilliant, acclaimed engineers my entire career has always been a source of great anxiety. Even today, 25 years into my software development journey, I still fear I could be discarded at any time for my lack of credentials and/or incompetence.
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Nothing you listed, other than incompetence, will get you discarded unless, for example, you falsely claimed to have a college degree. And even that might be overlooked, given that you've demonstrated your skills. The fact that you're still around after all these years proves that your employer values you.
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Of course, its self-perceived incompetence, not actual incompetence. Its a quirk of human nature whereby the more you learn, the more you realize how much you have left to learn.
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My degree is in filmmaking. I am self taught. The best developer I work with has no IT degree. Two of the best hires I have made over the years had fresh degrees with ink still wet and no experience - and both knock it out of the park every day. I respect the work it takes to earn those degrees, but "getting it done" is all that really matters in the long run.
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And receiving a degree (any degree) is just one form of proof that “you can get it done/complete something”.
I had a very smart roommate whose motto was “College is four years of bulls**t. If you can put up with this, you can put up with a job.”
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and with just a touch of encouragement.....
We (techies pounding code, designing systems, etc) have been programmed to think we cannot ask for help. Decades ago I read a book on software teams and development processes. One of the chapters was titled, "Beware the Dark Office" where you had this one person desperately trying to complete a task.
We could do better.
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
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We can't ask for help because, as Brooks pointed out, adding more people to a late software project makes it later.
One person desperately trying to complete a task often means the truck number of that group is 1. 
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truth. But there is a difference between asking for help, being encouraged to ask for help, and the PM trying to make a baby in one month 
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
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