“It’s been said that the best computer programmers are the laziest people.”
I’m sure there’s a harmful stereotype there, but brother, you’re speaking my language.
Tag: programming
Teach me a programming concept and use a store customer reward system as the example 🥱
Teach me the same concept but use an adventure game treasure chest system as the example
I can’t wait to get good at programming so I can write hacky, nasty code that would make a computer scientist barf.
As someone who had Big Thoughts about writing and now still writes constantly but not that kind of writing that was exciting back then, and is now pursuing a new kind of writing used to tell a computer what to do, Justin Wolfe’s recent thank you note on the subject strikes some chords:
i’m thankful for how it’s ultimately, at least for the kind of writing i do, it’s not about equations and algorithms (even if you’re using them), it’s about how do you write in such a way that your lines best represent your intended meaning for multiple audiences (both to the robotic interpreter “reading” your code now in order to run it and to the humans reading your code now and later and much later to try to understand it and borrow from it and build on it) and how do you do that with clarity and efficiency (though that’s complicated, since what’s efficient might not be readable and vice versa) and how do you bridge between your individual stylistic choices and the different choices your teammates might make (i’m thankful for the engineers who are like formalist poets creating elegant (but sometimes opaque) structures of abstraction and i’m thankful for the people who write in a slightly shaggier but more immediately readable free verse and i’m thankful that i can find virtues in both and can stretch myself in either direction) and how do you manage the fact that these little parts you’re working on (because a person can only hold so many lines in their mind at one time) are part of ever-scaling networks of other parts, a tower projecting into the sky—how do you name things and organize things in such a way that those formal choices communicate the most meaning now and will continue to do so into the future.
“Argh this code should be written the proper way but I can’t lose any more time on figuring it out so I’ll hack in something that achieves the thing and come back to it later.”
Reader, he never saw that code ever again.
“Argh this code should be written the proper way but I can’t lose any more time on figuring it out so I’ll hack in something that achieves the thing and come back to it later.”
Reader, he never saw that code ever again.
In the interest of spring
I signed up for four classes this semester, and dropped each one in sequence when the parameters of the class didn’t align with the way I wanted to learn from them.
Piano I was by far the class I was most excited to try, having taken Music Fundamentals last semester. I can now read sheet music on a basic level and play simple ditties and that alone was an incredibly exciting experience. It’s like learning the letters/symbols of a new language and then being able to read a menu at a restaurant. In this way, to learn musical notation and its arrangement on the piano is the means to playing a melody, like learning to read a restaurant menu is a means to selecting a meal. I cannot cook the meal, but I can understand its contents and relay that to a fellow diner. But the class was synchronous and I couldn’t/wouldn’t make time for the biweekly class meetings. But I did invest in the cheapest 88-key digital piano that I could find, so I will chip away at this as a hobby. I’ve always wanted to learn to play music and this is the cusp of that long-held dream.
Then came History of Video Games. This should have been a nice course in which to learn some new tidbits about a subject I know a great deal about, but my recent aversion to writing essays and the professor’s chaotic organization of the class materials put me off.
I’d taken a basics of computer science course some years ago, believing I should pivot to programming as the cornerstone of my career. I’ve been in video games for two decades now and it just feels like I need to make a change to maximize my earnings potential (blargh) because getting old in the United States is terrifying. So hey, why not try Intro to Python Programming? That would’ve been fine except the professor chose to utilize a terrifying quiz and exam security tool called Proctorio. I’ve never seen such bullshit in my many years as an online student. I have the privilege to opt out but I feel awful for students who need to take these classes and abide by this garbage. This monitoring software requires a complete view of the desk the student is using and then tracks their eyes during the test in an attempt to prevent cheating. This also assumes a student has the privilege of a private space in which to conduct this nonsense, which of course makes the experience that much worse for students who are likely living with family or must use a computer and connection out in a public space like a library. It’s like having the professor staring at you during the test. This fucking sucks and I’m still mad and disappointed that this is how colleges and universities have decided to tackle cheating for students who must learn online. Needless to say, I noped out.
And finally, I did find a friendlier programming course in Intro to C++, but realized today that I just don’t have it in me to learn this material seriously right now. I dropped it earlier today and now I’m just working on more videos about licensed video games. Our studio recently granted us 3-month paid sabbaticals (what a concept… and a miracle these days), so I’m thinking I’ll use the time when I get the time off in a few years to find a good programming bootcamp in which I can leverage my unhealthy binge-like productivity and come out of it a programming hopeful.
In the meantime, this will be a spring of reading about piano (I’m still hyped for David Sudnow’s takes on it), video games (Boss Fight books can’t release quickly enough), Deep Space Nine (natch), and going on long walks around the bay area.
In the interest of spring
I signed up for four classes this semester, and dropped each one in sequence when the parameters of the class didn’t align with the way I wanted to learn from them.
Piano I was by far the class I was most excited to try, having taken Music Fundamentals last semester. I can now read sheet music on a basic level and play simple ditties and that alone was an incredibly exciting experience. It’s like learning the letters/symbols of a new language and then being able to read a menu at a restaurant. In this way, to learn musical notation and its arrangement on the piano is the means to playing a melody, like learning to read a restaurant menu is a means to selecting a meal. I cannot cook the meal, but I can understand its contents and relay that to a fellow diner. But the class was synchronous and I couldn’t/wouldn’t make time for the biweekly class meetings. But I did invest in the cheapest 88-key digital piano that I could find, so I will chip away at this as a hobby. I’ve always wanted to learn to play music and this is the cusp of that long-held dream.
Then came History of Video Games. This should have been a nice course in which to learn some new tidbits about a subject I know a great deal about, but my recent aversion to writing essays and the professor’s chaotic organization of the class materials put me off.
I’d taken a basics of computer science course some years ago, believing I should pivot to programming as the cornerstone of my career. I’ve been in video games for two decades now and it just feels like I need to make a change to maximize my earnings potential (blargh) because getting old in the United States is terrifying. So hey, why not try Intro to Python Programming? That would’ve been fine except the professor chose to utilize a terrifying quiz and exam security tool called Proctorio. I’ve never seen such bullshit in my many years as an online student. I have the privilege to opt out but I feel awful for students who need to take these classes and abide by this garbage. This monitoring software requires a complete view of the desk the student is using and then tracks their eyes during the test in an attempt to prevent cheating. This also assumes a student has the privilege of a private space in which to conduct this nonsense, which of course makes the experience that much worse for students who are likely living with family or must use a computer and connection out in a public space like a library. It’s like having the professor staring at you during the test. This fucking sucks and I’m still mad and disappointed that this is how colleges and universities have decided to tackle cheating for students who must learn online. Needless to say, I noped out.
And finally, I did find a friendlier programming course in Intro to C++, but realized today that I just don’t have it in me to learn this material seriously right now. I dropped it earlier today and now I’m just working on more videos about licensed video games. Our studio recently granted us 3-month paid sabbaticals (what a concept… and a miracle these days), so I’m thinking I’ll use the time when I get the time off in a few years to find a good programming bootcamp in which I can leverage my unhealthy binge-like productivity and come out of it a programming hopeful.
In the meantime, this will be a spring of reading about piano (I’m still hyped for David Sudnow’s takes on it), video games (Boss Fight books can’t release quickly enough), Deep Space Nine (natch), and going on long walks around the bay area.