Laziness, Impatience, and Hirsutry

[flwyd]

I've always said that in the 1960s, the boomers had long hair, wild fashions, and radical ideas about freedom and society while the people who programmed computers had crew cuts, crisp shirts, and didn't care too much about society. Today, the boomers have conservative hair cuts, business suits, and don't care too much about society while the people who program computers have long hair, wild fashions, and radical ideas about freedom and society.

Evidence.

I'm working on a hypothesis to explain the correlation between beards and computer programming. I might posit that the same laziness that leads to writing a computer program to solve boring problems also leads to focusing energy on solving interesting problems every day instead of trying to solve the Sysyphusian problem of why hair appeared on our chins the night before. Alternatively, it may be a warming effect: long hair and a beard better insulate our heads, where most of the body's heat loss occurs. And while silicon-based computers work better the cooler they are, neuron-based computers may work better the warmer they are. Or perhaps the beards just give us something to fidget with while we stare at some source code and say "How could a bug get in there?"

Comments

[slyviolet.livejournal.com]

In an episode of Babylon 5 that we watched last night, there was a group of monks who wanted to live on the station so that they could learn all of the aliens' names and notions of God. Their offer of service to the station in exchange for their stay was that they were all excellent computer programmers. One of them noted that the patience that their Order had learned in ages past by illuminating texts was now reflected in their programming of intricate and elegant systems. It made me think of you. ^_^

[flwyd.livejournal.com]

Thanks :-)

I've always thought a monastery where the monks chop wood, carry water, and write LISP would be an interesting arrangement. They could collect alms via paypal or NSF grants. They could have saffron academic robes with nuts and candy in the poofy sleeve cavities. It'd be sort of like graduate school, except with chopping wood taking the place of grading undergraduates and carrying water instead of avoiding dissertation writing.

[bike4fish.livejournal.com]

I don't know what you're talking about.

Idetrorce

[(Anonymous)]

very interesting, but I don't agree with you
Idetrorce