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From: chewy@apple.com (Paul Snively)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: The programming CULT
Message-ID: <9424@goofy.Apple.COM>
Date: 25 Jul 90 22:54:22 GMT
References: <90206.152308GROSSPA@QUCDN.BITNET>
Sender: usenet@Apple.COM
Organization: Apple Computer, Inc.
Lines: 73

In article <90206.152308GROSSPA@QUCDN.BITNET> GROSSPA@QUCDN.QueensU.CA 
(SPLAT) writes:
> As many of you probably know, mac programming has reached nearly 
cult-like
> status .

Actually, I don't think it's nearly as "cultish" now as it was, say, three 
years ago.  A lot of "establishment" types have discovered the Mac.

> At the developers conference I was in a huge room with thousands of
> people chanting "MOOF MOOF MOOF".  This is not the typical IBM systems
> introduction kind of place I thought to myself.

Thank you.  :-)  We in MacDTS are especially proud to have given the cult 
its official mascot, complete with vocalization.

> Question 1 - Why is it that most of the really good mac programmers I 
met are
> rarely CS grads. Lots of physics guys, some math, some arts etc.  (I have
> however met some REAL hotshot CS grad programmers in Cupertino)

Let's put it this way: I was a CS major at Indiana U., home of the likes 
of Douglas Hoftstadter and Daniel Friedman in January of 1984, when the 
Macintosh was introduced.  My fellow CS-major roomie and his best friend 
and I trapsed over to the local Apple dealer in good ol' Bloomington, 
Indiana (and yes, it really does look like it did in "Breaking Away") to 
check out the machine.

Like most of us, I was immediately blown away by the lasso in MacPaint.  
You could grab irregularly-shaped areas and drag them around, and you 
could see through the blank parts while doing so!  Amazing!

My friends' reaction?  I quote my roommate: "I'm a computer-science major; 
I don't need a stinking mouse."

When you're thinking about elitist scumbag professionals, or students who 
are trying to become one, when you think of journalists, lawyers, and 
doctors, don't forget computer scientists (NOTE: FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO 
AREN'T CAPABLE OF READING BETWEEN THE LINES, THIS IS A *JOKE*).

> Question 2 - What is the difference between a Geek and a Nerd?.  I think 
a
> Nerd LIKES unix.

A geek is the guy at the county fair who bites the heads off of live 
chickens.  I'm not familiar with the origins of the word "nerd," so I 
can't really answer the question.

> Question 3 - Do the people who work for/at Apple really have as much fun 
as
> they say they do?

No; we're all really brainwashed slave labor.   :-)  Of course we really 
have as much fun as we say we do; where else can a person get paid to play 
with "all those wonderful toys?"

> Question 4 - Are valley girls real?

Keep in mind that "valley girl" doesn't refer to Silicon Valley.  My 
understanding is that it refers to San Fernando Valley, which is several 
hundred miles south of here.  In any case, the frightening reality is that 
the stereotypical valley girl (and guy) actually does exist.

__________________________________________________________________________
                                Paul Snively
                      Macintosh Developer Technical Support
                             Apple Computer, Inc.

chewy@apple.com

Just because I work for Apple Computer, Inc. doesn't mean that I believe 
what they believe, or vice-versa.
__________________________________________________________________________