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Comment by snhorne | Hacker News Reader

I quit reading here. This idea that programmers have to work 18-hour days just to avoid becoming substandard is idiotic.

ps. if you have to spend all your free time studying to avoid losing your job, you never actually had any free time to begin with.

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This idea that programmers have to work 18-hour days just to avoid becoming substandard is idiotic.

Is it stupid because it isn't true or is it stupid because you don't want it to be true?

It isn't true. If you use your time wisely then you will be just fine. If your employer doesn't give you the time/budget for on-going education, then you need to look for a new employer.

it's stupid because it isn't true.

the best and most productive programmers i know have lots of other hobbies and interests, both cerebral and physical. they are intellectually gifted people.

if you need to try that hard, maybe you're just not that smart. i learned that early, because i'm not that smart, and working 18 hours a day sure as hell didn't fix that.

>if you need to try that hard

Do people who program in their spare time usually work 18 hour days?

What does programming in my spare time have to do with studying for my job? I think the idea that the article was trying to convey was that the best programmers love the work enough that they'd be doing it on their own, even if they weren't paid for it.

I work an 8 hour day. I may spend another several hours coding on some days, but I would characterize that as play, not work. I try to do things that I don't think I could convince anyone to pay me for.

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