Comments on: Common Folk: Me Too

By: Quarter Life Crisis

Quarter Life Crisis — Fri, 09 May 2003 19:07:59 +0000

Stupid

After my 9 out of 10 post, Erik let me know that (a) I misread him and (b) utterly...

By: codepoet

codepoet — Thu, 08 May 2003 18:14:52 +0000

Yeah, this isn't just programming, though for your bit I can see that's probably all you have experience with. While I program, and have professionally, I do not do so much these days and find myself in the company of a different class of talented folk, the majority of which can write at a so-called "college level" (which I was doing in the 9th grade, but I digress) and who generally get the intricacies of live, the universe, and everything. These are not, as you term it, common people (and as I term it, "fucking 'tards"), though we all have a bottle of Tums nearby for dealing with said people ...

"Why won't this repair be covered? I mean, I didn't break it!"

"You ... dropped ... the ... computer. Nay, you left the computer ON ... YOUR ... CAR ... and then drove off. That is NOT a warranty repair."

"But I didn't MEAN to do that!"

[whimper]

By: Survival of the Fittest | NSLog();

Survival of the Fittest | NSLog(); — Wed, 07 May 2003 22:28:17 +0000

My previous two entries have touched off a little discussion. However, the piece I found most interesting was this one from Michael Hanscom: Intelligent people...

By: Jeff Hume

Jeff Hume — Wed, 07 May 2003 03:14:39 +0000

Maybe you shouldn't limit it to simply programmers. I'd call myself a geek, but not a programmer. I don't really see the connection with programming. I'd draw more of a connection with actually writing.

By: Mike Margolis

Mike Margolis — Wed, 07 May 2003 01:14:29 +0000

In your rant about how programmers are better writers, you misconstrued your original point and upset people because you came across as condescending and on a high horse. You may use proper grammar and punctuation, but obviously haven't mastered subtle social interaction.

Better writer? Nah, you and programmers like you have just been scarred in the past by using improperly formatted text.

Give me a moment to explain. Most programmers I know do write in full sentences, and they usually do write well. I think this has little to do with their intelligence, their algorithmic thinking, or their appreciation for language. On the surface, it may have to do with the need to convey information clearly, howver, I think a more Pavlovian explanation is more accurate.

Every programmer knows the frustration of compiling code and seeing "Syntax Error! Missing ; on Line 5412 of Blah.cpp". Most programmers that I've seen start off with tons of syntax errors. Type theVar as thevar and you get an error. You forget a space in "int i;" and you get an error. You leave off a close bracket or parenthesis... you guessed it, error.

I believe that as we program more, we slowly get zapped into shape by compiler warnings, as a dog can be zapped when he doesn't obey or when he tries to leave the property . The more we get zapped, the fewer times we do it. Years later, I rarely have syntax errors in my programming, the errors and warnings I get are usually about mismatched types or calling functions that I haven't yet added to my header file, or worse, haven't yet implemented.

At the same time, I have found that all of my e-mails and IMs use proper grammar and spelling, even when I am trying to type as fast as possible. I could say "no u?" but I say "Not really, what about you?" So, with that, I definitely think programmers are conditioned to not use 'sloppy' english

Now, on the other hand, I am not a better writer than I was 5 years ago. When I need to write an essay for school, I am expected to use proper grammar and spelling. I attempted to do so in the past, and I attempt to do so today.

So, I may not be a better writer, but I definitely think I have been conditioned to not be a sloppy writer