From owner-freebsd-chat Fri May 21 16:11:11 1999 Delivered-To: freebsd-chat@freebsd.org Received: from quark.ChrisBowman.com (crbowman.erols.com [209.122.47.155]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id B83F114DF2 for ; Fri, 21 May 1999 16:11:06 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from crb@ChrisBowman.com) Received: from fermion (fermion.ChrisBowman.com [10.0.1.2]) by quark.ChrisBowman.com (8.9.2/8.8.8) with SMTP id TAA07729; Fri, 21 May 1999 19:09:59 -0400 (EDT) (envelope-from crb@ChrisBowman.com) Message-Id: <199905212309.TAA07729@quark.ChrisBowman.com> X-Sender: crb@quark X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 4.0.1 Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 19:08:30 -0400 To: Terry Lambert From: "Christopher R. Bowman" Subject: Re: Music to code by Cc: unknown@riverstyx.net, bright@rush.net, hodeleri@seattleu.edu, freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG In-Reply-To: <199905212147.OAA04190@usr07.primenet.com> References: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Sender: owner-freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk X-Loop: FreeBSD.org At 09:47 PM 5/21/99 +0000, Terry Lambert wrote: > >Sorry, but I just don't get this whole thread; how can anyone code >at their best while listening to music? The idea that my phone >might ring or that someone might show up and demand my attention >is enough that I can't get to my deepest level of concentration >due to anticipating the mere possibility of interruption. My best >work is always achieved at home or in an office with the door closed. > >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? >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. >Bill Gates is reputed to rock back and forth in his chair like >Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man" when he is concentrating deeply upon >some subject (coding, taking money from little old ladies, whatever). > > > Terry Lambert > terry@lambert.org >--- >Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present >or previous employers. > > >To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org >with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message > -------- Christopher R. Bowman crb@ChrisBowman.com http://www.ChrisBowman.com/ To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message