RE: Hackers and Painters

[Frank Knobbe <frank () knobbe us>]

On Wed, 2004-09-22 at 09:20, Richard Thieme wrote:
> I mean, I have been writing since I was 13 ... I think a lot of
> artists, once you in the flow, in the zone, go on marathon sessions.
> Once you're there you don't want to stop because it is so
> self-nurturing, i.e. the positive feedback loops keep ramping up. It
> short-circuits lesser needs and pleasures including eating.

I consider this ZEN coding. It is like you said, a positive feedback
loop. The world just fades aware in the stare at the screen while the
fingers fly over the keyboard. The body otherwise rests motionless in
the chair or on the couch. The mind is freed from worldly worries and
immersed in the structure of the code. Within the mind the code unfolds
and you see the lines ahead, faster than the fingers can catch up. Your
minds is fixed on the code not for pleasure but for creative means,
because it's there in front of you and needs to be transcribed into
$your_language_of_choice.

The pleasure part sets in when you push back and review your creation
while lighting a smoke or refilling the tea/coffee cup/pot. At least
with me. I'm too busy coding to enjoy the pleasure while I type :)

Cheers,
Frank

Attachment: signature.asc
Description: This is a digitally signed message part

_______________________________________________
Dailydave mailing list
Dailydave () lists immunitysec com
http://www.immunitysec.com/mailman/listinfo/dailydave