An inspirational story: tenacity
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Thought of this story today... I joined a company as a Dev in 2000. They said the previous dev had left because he was overwhelmed with the C++ code he was writing which used COM to speak to a hardware device. They told me, he left in a hurry and told everyone "do not contact me". I was afraid to look at the code. Digging Into Dev's Code Then I dug in and I discovered the most beautiful code I'd ever seen. It was self-explanatory code & I learned new techniques. It was amazing. I didn't have to do much and I got the code working. 1000 Mile Journey That developer had been on a 1000 mile journey and gave up inches away from success. Still blows my mind. And, even after all these years, I remember that code as some of the best I've ever seen to this day. One of my favorite quotes is
confirmed Louis Pasteur (quote investigator[^])
let me tell you the secret that led me to my goal. My sole strength is in my tenacity.
I hardly know anything but I have the weird ability to try a (technology) thing 1,000 times and not get bored or give up entirely.
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Thought of this story today... I joined a company as a Dev in 2000. They said the previous dev had left because he was overwhelmed with the C++ code he was writing which used COM to speak to a hardware device. They told me, he left in a hurry and told everyone "do not contact me". I was afraid to look at the code. Digging Into Dev's Code Then I dug in and I discovered the most beautiful code I'd ever seen. It was self-explanatory code & I learned new techniques. It was amazing. I didn't have to do much and I got the code working. 1000 Mile Journey That developer had been on a 1000 mile journey and gave up inches away from success. Still blows my mind. And, even after all these years, I remember that code as some of the best I've ever seen to this day. One of my favorite quotes is
confirmed Louis Pasteur (quote investigator[^])
let me tell you the secret that led me to my goal. My sole strength is in my tenacity.
I hardly know anything but I have the weird ability to try a (technology) thing 1,000 times and not get bored or give up entirely.
Something I learned from my father, finish the job. Now I say, "I may not be the strongest, I may not be the fastest, but I WILL outlast you." Having completion issues doesn't hurt either, except when I change the channel just before bed and catch the beginning of a movie.
I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated. I’m begging you for the benefit of everyone, don’t be STUPID.
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Thought of this story today... I joined a company as a Dev in 2000. They said the previous dev had left because he was overwhelmed with the C++ code he was writing which used COM to speak to a hardware device. They told me, he left in a hurry and told everyone "do not contact me". I was afraid to look at the code. Digging Into Dev's Code Then I dug in and I discovered the most beautiful code I'd ever seen. It was self-explanatory code & I learned new techniques. It was amazing. I didn't have to do much and I got the code working. 1000 Mile Journey That developer had been on a 1000 mile journey and gave up inches away from success. Still blows my mind. And, even after all these years, I remember that code as some of the best I've ever seen to this day. One of my favorite quotes is
confirmed Louis Pasteur (quote investigator[^])
let me tell you the secret that led me to my goal. My sole strength is in my tenacity.
I hardly know anything but I have the weird ability to try a (technology) thing 1,000 times and not get bored or give up entirely.
Stick-to-it-iveness wins the day.
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Something I learned from my father, finish the job. Now I say, "I may not be the strongest, I may not be the fastest, but I WILL outlast you." Having completion issues doesn't hurt either, except when I change the channel just before bed and catch the beginning of a movie.
I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated. I’m begging you for the benefit of everyone, don’t be STUPID.
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Thought of this story today... I joined a company as a Dev in 2000. They said the previous dev had left because he was overwhelmed with the C++ code he was writing which used COM to speak to a hardware device. They told me, he left in a hurry and told everyone "do not contact me". I was afraid to look at the code. Digging Into Dev's Code Then I dug in and I discovered the most beautiful code I'd ever seen. It was self-explanatory code & I learned new techniques. It was amazing. I didn't have to do much and I got the code working. 1000 Mile Journey That developer had been on a 1000 mile journey and gave up inches away from success. Still blows my mind. And, even after all these years, I remember that code as some of the best I've ever seen to this day. One of my favorite quotes is
confirmed Louis Pasteur (quote investigator[^])
let me tell you the secret that led me to my goal. My sole strength is in my tenacity.
I hardly know anything but I have the weird ability to try a (technology) thing 1,000 times and not get bored or give up entirely.
What surprises me is that someone who can write some of the best code you've ever seen didn't recognize his own ability. Perhaps he's among the apparently not-so-small group that are high performers yet secretly believe that they're actually incompetent and that their world will come crashing down once people realize it.
Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. -
Thought of this story today... I joined a company as a Dev in 2000. They said the previous dev had left because he was overwhelmed with the C++ code he was writing which used COM to speak to a hardware device. They told me, he left in a hurry and told everyone "do not contact me". I was afraid to look at the code. Digging Into Dev's Code Then I dug in and I discovered the most beautiful code I'd ever seen. It was self-explanatory code & I learned new techniques. It was amazing. I didn't have to do much and I got the code working. 1000 Mile Journey That developer had been on a 1000 mile journey and gave up inches away from success. Still blows my mind. And, even after all these years, I remember that code as some of the best I've ever seen to this day. One of my favorite quotes is
confirmed Louis Pasteur (quote investigator[^])
let me tell you the secret that led me to my goal. My sole strength is in my tenacity.
I hardly know anything but I have the weird ability to try a (technology) thing 1,000 times and not get bored or give up entirely.
raddevus wrote:
I hardly know anything but I have the weird ability to try a (technology) thing 1,000 times and not get bored or give up entirely.
Story of my life!
Check out my IoT graphics library here: https://honeythecodewitch.com/gfx And my IoT UI/User Experience library here: https://honeythecodewitch.com/uix
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Thought of this story today... I joined a company as a Dev in 2000. They said the previous dev had left because he was overwhelmed with the C++ code he was writing which used COM to speak to a hardware device. They told me, he left in a hurry and told everyone "do not contact me". I was afraid to look at the code. Digging Into Dev's Code Then I dug in and I discovered the most beautiful code I'd ever seen. It was self-explanatory code & I learned new techniques. It was amazing. I didn't have to do much and I got the code working. 1000 Mile Journey That developer had been on a 1000 mile journey and gave up inches away from success. Still blows my mind. And, even after all these years, I remember that code as some of the best I've ever seen to this day. One of my favorite quotes is
confirmed Louis Pasteur (quote investigator[^])
let me tell you the secret that led me to my goal. My sole strength is in my tenacity.
I hardly know anything but I have the weird ability to try a (technology) thing 1,000 times and not get bored or give up entirely.
"Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force, but through persistence." - Ovid, Roman poet
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Thought of this story today... I joined a company as a Dev in 2000. They said the previous dev had left because he was overwhelmed with the C++ code he was writing which used COM to speak to a hardware device. They told me, he left in a hurry and told everyone "do not contact me". I was afraid to look at the code. Digging Into Dev's Code Then I dug in and I discovered the most beautiful code I'd ever seen. It was self-explanatory code & I learned new techniques. It was amazing. I didn't have to do much and I got the code working. 1000 Mile Journey That developer had been on a 1000 mile journey and gave up inches away from success. Still blows my mind. And, even after all these years, I remember that code as some of the best I've ever seen to this day. One of my favorite quotes is
confirmed Louis Pasteur (quote investigator[^])
let me tell you the secret that led me to my goal. My sole strength is in my tenacity.
I hardly know anything but I have the weird ability to try a (technology) thing 1,000 times and not get bored or give up entirely.
thank you for that fascinating story . would it be possible to elaborate re/ the beautiful code . perhaps a few examples . i am eager to learn . on the occassion of an interview i informed the interviewer i attempt to make my code "pretty" . he almost laughed . perhaps i should have said "beautiful" .
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Thought of this story today... I joined a company as a Dev in 2000. They said the previous dev had left because he was overwhelmed with the C++ code he was writing which used COM to speak to a hardware device. They told me, he left in a hurry and told everyone "do not contact me". I was afraid to look at the code. Digging Into Dev's Code Then I dug in and I discovered the most beautiful code I'd ever seen. It was self-explanatory code & I learned new techniques. It was amazing. I didn't have to do much and I got the code working. 1000 Mile Journey That developer had been on a 1000 mile journey and gave up inches away from success. Still blows my mind. And, even after all these years, I remember that code as some of the best I've ever seen to this day. One of my favorite quotes is
confirmed Louis Pasteur (quote investigator[^])
let me tell you the secret that led me to my goal. My sole strength is in my tenacity.
I hardly know anything but I have the weird ability to try a (technology) thing 1,000 times and not get bored or give up entirely.
Sounds like burn-out. And "finishing" is never as satisfying (IMO) as seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. My story (wrapping up a contract): "Are you sure you don't need any more changes?". "Yes". Later ... "Please change the "form#" on this report". Not "can we". Or "should we". Just do it. etc. Nooooo.
"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I
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What surprises me is that someone who can write some of the best code you've ever seen didn't recognize his own ability. Perhaps he's among the apparently not-so-small group that are high performers yet secretly believe that they're actually incompetent and that their world will come crashing down once people realize it.
Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.Impostor syndrome - Wikipedia[^]
Software Zen:
delete this; -
Something I learned from my father, finish the job. Now I say, "I may not be the strongest, I may not be the fastest, but I WILL outlast you." Having completion issues doesn't hurt either, except when I change the channel just before bed and catch the beginning of a movie.
I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated. I’m begging you for the benefit of everyone, don’t be STUPID.
Something that particularly irks my wife (but me too) is that in schools these days (in the UK at least) there is no incentive to "finish" anything. If time runs out, kids get marks for effort, or based on what they've done so far. That's fine, but there is then no requirement to complete the task in their own time. This happens over, and over, and over again and children learn that it doesn't matter if things don't get finished. We see it creeping into politics too; e.g. a new policy is introduced, but before implementation is finished or results visible it gets changed; but the one who started it off gets the praise anyway. We see the results all around; unfinished projects, or products with great potential but not properly finished, or great marketing ideas released without anyone bothering to proof-read. But the worst thing? People never get to experience that feeling when you can finally put your feet up and admire a job well done and take pride in it.
Telegraph marker posts ... nothing to do with IT Phasmid email discussion group ... also nothing to do with IT Beekeeping and honey site ... still nothing to do with IT
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What surprises me is that someone who can write some of the best code you've ever seen didn't recognize his own ability. Perhaps he's among the apparently not-so-small group that are high performers yet secretly believe that they're actually incompetent and that their world will come crashing down once people realize it.
Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.Greg Utas wrote:
group that are high performers yet secretly believe that they're actually incompetent and that their world will come crashing down once people realize it.
It's called "impostor syndrome"[^] and my daughter is suffering from it: an over-achiever who is permanently certain that everyone else in the room is smarter and knows more than her. I don't know where she got this from. Me, on the other side.... :D
Mircea
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Thought of this story today... I joined a company as a Dev in 2000. They said the previous dev had left because he was overwhelmed with the C++ code he was writing which used COM to speak to a hardware device. They told me, he left in a hurry and told everyone "do not contact me". I was afraid to look at the code. Digging Into Dev's Code Then I dug in and I discovered the most beautiful code I'd ever seen. It was self-explanatory code & I learned new techniques. It was amazing. I didn't have to do much and I got the code working. 1000 Mile Journey That developer had been on a 1000 mile journey and gave up inches away from success. Still blows my mind. And, even after all these years, I remember that code as some of the best I've ever seen to this day. One of my favorite quotes is
confirmed Louis Pasteur (quote investigator[^])
let me tell you the secret that led me to my goal. My sole strength is in my tenacity.
I hardly know anything but I have the weird ability to try a (technology) thing 1,000 times and not get bored or give up entirely.
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Stick-to-it-iveness wins the day.
-
What surprises me is that someone who can write some of the best code you've ever seen didn't recognize his own ability. Perhaps he's among the apparently not-so-small group that are high performers yet secretly believe that they're actually incompetent and that their world will come crashing down once people realize it.
Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.I agree. I was mind-boggled. Maybe he just made an excuse to leave the company?? The code was absolutely beautiful. Great use of classes that made it easy to see what he was doing. Used some C++ define macros but they were so clear and actually made things better. Just really great code.
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"Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force, but through persistence." - Ovid, Roman poet
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thank you for that fascinating story . would it be possible to elaborate re/ the beautiful code . perhaps a few examples . i am eager to learn . on the occassion of an interview i informed the interviewer i attempt to make my code "pretty" . he almost laughed . perhaps i should have said "beautiful" .
It was C++ (and a long time ago), but what I remember was: 1. Fantastic / balanced use of classes & OOP 2. Code organization / design which made it easy to discover his original intent. 3. Just enough comments -- actually quite light because the code just did exactly what it "said" it did. 4. Amazing use of C++ #define macros. I'd never seen macros like the ones he created. So clear and so helpful -- but no more. Just like "Einstein"* said 'As simple as possible but no simpler' 5. No over-engineering or confusing stuff, just clean, pure code broken up into pieces that made it all digestible. Keep in mind with all of these comments that this was MFC / C++ which used some custom-created COM components and I had to understand the COM components themselves too (the dev created them) because they interfaced with a laser micrometer. *Pretty sure Einstein never actually said this but it's a great quote.
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Sounds like burn-out. And "finishing" is never as satisfying (IMO) as seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. My story (wrapping up a contract): "Are you sure you don't need any more changes?". "Yes". Later ... "Please change the "form#" on this report". Not "can we". Or "should we". Just do it. etc. Nooooo.
"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I
Gerry Schmitz wrote:
Sounds like burn-out.
That is a definite possibility because I'm still confused about why he left when his code was so great.
Gerry Schmitz wrote:
And "finishing" is never as satisfying (IMO) as seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
That is very true! :)
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raddevus wrote:
because he was overwhelmed with the C++ code...the best I've ever seen to this day.
Could just have been personal. But perhaps he got into the mindset that he needed to achieve perfection rather than just good enough.
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Something that particularly irks my wife (but me too) is that in schools these days (in the UK at least) there is no incentive to "finish" anything. If time runs out, kids get marks for effort, or based on what they've done so far. That's fine, but there is then no requirement to complete the task in their own time. This happens over, and over, and over again and children learn that it doesn't matter if things don't get finished. We see it creeping into politics too; e.g. a new policy is introduced, but before implementation is finished or results visible it gets changed; but the one who started it off gets the praise anyway. We see the results all around; unfinished projects, or products with great potential but not properly finished, or great marketing ideas released without anyone bothering to proof-read. But the worst thing? People never get to experience that feeling when you can finally put your feet up and admire a job well done and take pride in it.
Telegraph marker posts ... nothing to do with IT Phasmid email discussion group ... also nothing to do with IT Beekeeping and honey site ... still nothing to do with IT
Not only UK... In Spain they get to the next class even if they didn't pass the exams (because to sit / repeat a year can be a traumatic experience... :doh: )
M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
