My contention that programmers are artists, just of another sort, used to rest on pretty flimsy footing. In high school I made some remark to this effect to the school newspaper: by virtue of being a creative effort, programming makes the practicioner an artist. And I said people of The Future will realize this & place programmers alongside musicians, painters, writers, etc. Hubris.
Now I think a little differently. Eric Raymond puts it well:
The key thing here is the desire to have an audience. Yes, it's a bit thespian, at least if taken to the extreme. But it's there. I have this desire. I acknowledge it. I want people to use my software; I want end users who appreciate it, even if only 1 in 10 lepers returns to say wow this saved me so much time & effort, or hey this is pretty cool.
But that's not all that comes with this whole artist's bag. It was no surprise to me to discover from Kerouac's letters that he--like any writer--actively sought out all kinds of odd jobs ie parking lot attendant, a construction worker, a cotton picker, a forest ranger on a lonely mountain etc. for nothing more than the raw material it provided him. Without such experiences there would be no On the Road. Especially since Kerouac, more than most, was direct about his conversion of these raw materials into writing: usually just changing a few names to protect the innocent and reporting all else at face value.
It was a surprise when I realized again (I've realized this before, keep forgetting) that wild new life experiences are essential to programming. You can't program in a vacuum. It's easy to forget this. I think because the conversion is so involved & mysterious. You, much less your end users, will never see that crazy trip or beautiful forest that was the inspiration. But it's there.
So to make a long story short, I'm probably going to live out of a van next month. More on this later.
Posted by Alan at July 7, 2004 09:51 PM