Re: How to learn software design
In article <aE6Ym.72956$de6.43045@newsfe21.iad>, "dragan" <spambuster@prodigy.net> wrote:
"Pete Becker" <pete@versatilecoding.com> wrote in message
news:vs2dnc3GxOL6pLDWnZ2dnUVZ_vBi4p2d@giganews.com...
James Kanze wrote:
That's an interesting point. I once heard that you should never
employ a programmer who didn't play a musical instrument.
Something about the ability to be creative in a structured
environment.
I used to play a musical instrument, but I've found that the thing that's
contributed most to my understanding of programming and program design was
law school. That's where I learned to cut through the distractions to see
what's really there.
Both allude to what I think are very relevant concepts and not just
folklore: that the larger scope of someone's experience and knowledge is
very important in graduating to an advanced level of designing/architecting
capability.
One of things you learn with music is to deal with abstractions.
Second thing you learn is to trust yourself with improvisation.
That gives you a subconscious hint that things are still possible
even if you don't "know" which note to play next, how long and
loud, with what accentuation, with what sustain and decation,
with what tone and according to what rythm, manifest or implied.
This an immense amount of "information processing".
It is like walking on a mine field, never knowing what your next
step is going to be, a step to life or the end of your trip.
And, some people, miraculously still can walk on the mind field.
In fact it is a daily job for them.
With music, you learn now to construct objects.
It is forever a process of construction.
You also learn the principles of harmony and principles of
melody (the equivalent of sequential logic).
Plus, you learn to be a PART of the whole orchestra
and see how your playing fits into the whole piece of music.
And the grandest thing of all, you learn EXTACY.
Extacy with existance. An orgasmic feeling with life.
Something that feeds your very soul,
gives you a taste of the very JUICE of life.
Without it, you are like a machine, more or less,
programmed with knowlege to follow someone elses path,
but not your own. You never learn the very joy of existence.
In fact, you don't even have time to even recognize it
when it comes, being forever busy, trying to forever jump
higher than your own weanie, without realizing it is simply
an impossibility. Thus frustration. The grandest frustration
of all - not being able to express yourself, accept yourself
as you are and trust yourself as something PERFECTLY valid,
no matter what who says what and no matter how much you
yourself doubt your own validity.
Cool, eh?
:--}
--
Programmer's Goldmine collections:
http://preciseinfo.org
Tens of thousands of code examples and expert discussions on
C++, MFC, VC, ATL, STL, templates, Java, Python, Javascript,
organized by major topics of language, tools, methods, techniques.