Unfortunately, yes. And I'm definitely treating life as an optimization problem. However, most of the time I don't see the big picture. For example, I spend hours or days figuring out the "best" piece of hardware to buy (e.g., a new monitor), and then another day trying find the best offer. Usually I get frustrated the more options I find. Quite often, after many wasted hours, I end up buying nothing at all.
Other people would just "google" for "monitor test 2011", take #1 from the list, get it from their local dealer, and spend the rest of the day working on an interesting project or earning money (or both). What a happy life.
> I have found success when my hobbies and side projects intersect with each other. I finished a Flash animation when it was for a class project. I actually did learn a Haskell for Great Good when I made my senior research project "An Investigation of Lesser-Known Programming Languages." Then learning Haskell was not just a thing that might be cool but rather a school project that I had to finish.
Jup. The only programming projects I finished were school projects. That's when I have no problems getting incredibly productive, but a few minutes after the submission deadline, everything is back to normal and I waste my time sucking in random bits of information on the web. There's no way to become a great programmer (builder/creator) if you only code (build/create) seriously a few times a year.
> If something like school motivates you, then use that to your advantage!
Yes, school is the only thing that really motivates me. But well, now I'm close to graduation, and I don't know yet what could replace it. That's scary.
> Do note that knowing a lot about a little does give you some unique advantages. If you ever do need to really learn something for a job or school project, it will be much easier than if you knew nothing about a subject. You are also more aware of what tools are available for various projects, and you can select the right tool for the right job.
That's true. I often notice that my tech knowledge is very exhaustive/broad compared to people who I consider experts in their particular field. They know one thing very well, I know a little about countless things.
However, I don't really know if that helps me as a programmer. Good programmers have to become experts in a at least a few technologies. Maybe I should not force myself to become a programmer. Maybe I should pick a route where there is no need to become an expert. Suggestions?
> If you'd like to talk, send me an email. Info's in my profile if you are interested.
I definitely should do so. But somehow I'm already starting to lose all interest in fixing my problems. I'm already onto the next thing: Skimming through the Python twisted docs, just to see that I don't actually want to build anything. Sigh.