Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 12:53:46 -0700 (PDT) From: <unknown@riverstyx.net> To: Terry Lambert <tlambert@primenet.com> Cc: "Christopher R. Bowman" <crb@ChrisBowman.com>, bright@rush.net, hodeleri@seattleu.edu, freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Music to code by Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.04.9905231248540.32075-100000@hades.riverstyx.net> In-Reply-To: <199905231330.GAA10021@usr01.primenet.com>
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On Sun, 23 May 1999, Terry Lambert wrote: > > >Is it just that other people don't concentrate very deeply when > > >coding, or is it that they just don't code very deeply? > > > > Why do you assume that your inability to concentrate in the face of music or > > other distractions means that every body else has the same problem? > > Because interruption is interruption. People can demand your > attention, regardless of what you will. > > >All of the best coders I have known throughout my career go into > > >semi-autistic funks -- pacing, rocking backward and forward in their > > >chairs, etc. -- while producing their best code. > > > > Ok, your empirical evidence isn't a horrible basis for judgement, but > > come on do you really think it is unbiased? I don't find music > > distracting at all, but the two guys that used to site behind my > > cubicle at GE and talk about golf all day, well lets just say I have > > a real hard time screening out human voices having a conversation. > > Coding is inherently mathematical, as is music. Using the same > part of your brain for two activities results in half (or less) > of the effort applied to the activity than if you were using it > for one. > > Maybe the people who code to music don't recognize coding as a > mathematical activity? Or maybe they don't recognize music as > being mathematical? Either way, it's a division of effort. > > I don't think that Twisted Sister is algorithmically biased toward > coding hashing functions... maybe I'm just a different species of > fish? From what I've read (not a lot, but enough) listening to music actaully serves to *stimulate* those segments of the brain. Why would you think that listening to music would "use up" your brain power? And why do you think that the brain is some kind of single-tasking system? I think the brain is not nearly as linear and mechanical as you seem to think. --- tani hosokawa river styx internet To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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