Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!snorkelwacker!apple!escher From: escher@Apple.COM (Michael Crawford) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer Subject: Re: The programming CULT Message-ID: <9504@goofy.Apple.COM> Date: 31 Jul 90 18:29:08 GMT References: <90206.152308GROSSPA@QUCDN.BITNET> Organization: Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino, CA Lines: 82 In article <90206.152308GROSSPA@QUCDN.BITNET> GROSSPA@QUCDN.QueensU.CA (SPLAT) writes: >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) My studies were in physics, but I left it when I decided to become an artist. I found that art does not pay, so rather than pursue a life of crime I became a programmer. I have a friend from college who was a brilliant math student. He decided to become a double major in physics, thinking that since physics is full of math, he would have an easy time. He was so inept in lab, one wondered how he could tie his shoes in the morning. He had no physical intuition at all, really choked on quantum mechanics, and scoffed at the informal methods that physicists used to solve problems. He very nearly failed out of school. Now, I am an entirely a self taught programmer (I had but one computer science course in college -- data structures). I do find that I have a lifetime of experience in doing practical things (my goal in physics had been to do experimental work, as I like working with my hands). What I lack in theoretical background I more than make up for in practical skills. Bugs cannot hide from my eye. I can hack circles around most computer science baccalaureates that I have encountered in my career, given otherwise equal experience. For a long time I considered programming a purely short term thing until I got a decent portfolio together and could start getting into galleries, and into art school. One thing that concerned me though is, what I could do in the way of art that would be different from the rest of the herd? I have always been interested in computer graphics, yet I found that most existing computer graphics were quite harsh, poorly composed, and garishly colored. All the computer animation festivals I have viewed have put me to sleep. I also found that most artists had not the slightest concept of how to program, though some know now how to work with them, thanks to the Mac. So, given an artistic medium filled with promise, but, in my opinion, little to show so far, I have a tremendoes advantage: I am an artist who knows how to program, and a programmer who has a sense of aesthetics. I program the Mac because I want to make computer graphics that are real art, and it is the computer of choice for artists. I do rather prefer Unix for development, though. I do feel that my lack of formal education is becoming more of a hindrance as a progress from a coder to a designer. Because of this, I spend a great deal of my time studying computer science theory on my own. I do feel that my self study has benefited me far more than the tens of thousands of dollars that my parents, the government, and I spent on my formal education (this would be so, even had I been educated in the field that I am now working in). I still have no degree, though I am actually going to complete my physics degree so interviewers stop asking why I never graduated. >Question 2 - What is the difference between a Geek and a Nerd?. I think a >Nerd LIKES unix. A nerd is a person who is so interested in some subject that they lose all sense of social conformity. Nerds are lost in their heads. A geek is a nerd who's interest is in computers. One also has art nerds, and so on. This is the definition in use at UC Santa Cruz, at least when I was a geek there. In old days, geeks bit the heads off chickens. Anyone out there that can tell me what a twit is? Consult Kurt Vonnegut. >Question 3 - Do the people who work for/at Apple really have as much fun as >they say they do? I have as much fun as I say I do. >Question 4 - Are valley girls real? Gag me with a spoon! Are _you_ for real? -- Michael D. Crawford Oddball Enterprises Consulting for Apple Computer Inc. 606 Modesto Avenue escher@apple.com Santa Cruz, CA 95060 Applelink: escher@apple.com@INTERNET# oddball!mike@ucscc.ucsc.edu The opinions expressed here are solely my own. alias make '/bin/make & rn'