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Comment by hnrodey | Hacker News Reader

Years ago, I recall a line from a fellow who was our then "chief architect".

>Do you program a computer, or do you build software?

Programming a computer is accessible to millions upon millions of people. Building and creating software is a craft for which we are well paid.

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Yesterday my wife asked me how can I work with music playing, doesn't that distract me? My response was my work boils down to figuring out what to make, then making it. The figuring out part is hard, and requires silent concentration. The making part is usually straightforward and music helps me crank along.

I like your observation. I've recently said similar things like "writing code is 99% figuring out what the hell this thing should do, and 1% is actually making it do that thing".

I find that playing music occupies the part of my brain that is easily distracted. This allows the productive part of my brain to work without distractions.

Without music, the easily distracted part of my brain starts looking for distractions, which drags the productive part of my brain along with it.

Music gives me momentum and puts me in the moment. In my most productive streaks I listen to music. Then silence is good when evaluating what I’ve done, cleaning up here and there and some refactoring. It’s come kind of call to arms if I needed to make an analogy even though Im not a fan of warfare

None or low entry barriers are an issue in lots of places. Even making a proper coffee is a craft you can't aquire just by googling around in a rainy evening (throwing hot water on pre-ground beans does not qualify you as a barista). Difference is you can only damage a coffee for the moment, not a whole software suite for many years to come.

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