Some (most) people don't get it....

ransom wrote:

JoeyM wrote: I find scripting (I don't do real programming) to be remarkably similar to playing with cars...... [....] A skilled programmer sits down and writes. I, OTOH, tend to spend a lot of time grappling with the idea, "This is what I need to accomplish. How do I get from here to there?

I know it's a giant tangent, but I have to point out that scripting is very much "real" programming; it's much more about what you're doing than what language it's in. Unless it's something really, utterly trivial, there's some time spent figuring out what you're trying to do and how to approach it. Often, this is a larger part of the project than the actual coding.

I can assure you that my little php/perl scripts really are utterly trivial! I'm talking about ultra-simple LAMP stuff, good for running a personal website, not business purposes.

I'm positive that there are plenty of non-IT guys around here who can write circles around me. I'm pretty sure that Hess knows is way around a DB better than I do.....those of you who DO make a living in IT make it clear why I don't anymore.

The planning is not what I was talking about....I muddle my way through the actual code. A fluent programmer has the mechanics down, and just writes. They don't need to keep looking up function calls to find a way to do something (...which is what I have to do)

alfadriver wrote: In reply to Beer Baron: Should have been a lot more condesending. Like 'I'm sorry that it takes you drugs to reach that point, as the feeling I get when I'm climbing or taking corners correctly is very amazing. So all I need is to drive or climb- you need artificial help'..

There was a bit of that too. Explaining that I work and control my altered states of consciousness, and he does neither. I did point out that I've been to a rave where people were taking a lot of drugs. Those people had far less self awareness and expanded consciousness than drivers getting out of their cars at the end of a race.

When confronted with a tone like that, Beer Baron, I remind myself of a quote," Because I fly, I envy no man on Earth."

In reply to Appleseed:

"If God had intended for Man to fly, he would have given him more money."

JoeyM wrote: I know that when the new guy left my office he was still very skeptical about my claim that cars can be an intellectually challenging pass time. How do you explain this to people?

IMO, you can't. I personally think that trying to do so is the reason Crawford wrote his book in the first place. If a guy with a philosophy degree can't get it through their head (and that's assuming there are still people out there who want to read stuff), I figure my own chances are slim to none.

The automobile as it is to most folks:

In reply to friedgreencorrado:

In Joey's case it's

Well played, sir!

Wow Joey, I didn't know you were using ceiling fan bits on your build too.

If I find one in the trash and can think of a use for it, I just might.

Heck, I don't get why people think baseball is such a great pastime, even if it is supposed to be the "nation's" pastime. Obviously, many people consider it an intellectual pursuit, but it just doesn't interest me. I'm sure if I walked into someone's office with all their trophies on the wall I would be more impressed with their diploma or menses plaque. (And, yes, that was on purpose ).

It all depends on your passion. I'm a great example for Matthew Crawford-- I've got an advanced degree and a desk job, everything I do at work is on computer and on paper, and most of the time I wish I was making or fixing something in my garage instead. I dream of a retirement business making or fixing things. Thing is, I've been in this job so long and reached a place where I just can't afford to do anything else.

Definitely a first world problem, though. I've been on some of the bottom rungs of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and I'm grateful that the issue of self-actualization is all I have to deal with at the moment.

I went to school for Automotive, ended up in the Silicon Valley tech industry. Interestingly enough a big part of the reason I got hired to my current job was because the hiring manager liked that I had an automotive background because: "It promotes critical thinking, and i'd rather you be good at that than remembering formulas from a book".

So I guess some people do get it FWIW

^^^^ sounds like an intelligent boss