Hacker News Reader

Comment by daviddaviddavid | Hacker News Reader

The number one reason at this point in my life (44 years old, fulltime programmer) that I tend to not have any side projects at all is my absolute disdain for physically being tethered to a computer.

After a full week of staring at a screen and sitting too much (I alternate between standing/sitting desks all day) and typing, the last thing in the world that I want to do is more of that. Which is unfortunate, because there are numerous fun programming projects that I'm itching to do.

So I play music and make elaborate chalk art with my kid and garden and ride my bike like a madman. And I suspect that I'm better for it. (Though I'd probably be better at my day job if I were doing those side projects.)

View on HN

I realized at some point, that I would actually love coding, if it could be physicalized. Like the games Factorio or Satisfactorio. Give me VR/AR and a 3D programming language and I'd get willfully lost for days.

But sitting or standing for hours and hours in front of a screen, I'm starting to resent it. This goes so far that I started thinking about building a backpack with an extendable arm to hold my laptop in front of me. Still 2D and physically moving doesn't add to the programming task, but at least I could move while working.

> I realized at some point, that I would actually love coding, if it could be physicalized. Like the games Factorio or Satisfactorio. Give me VR/AR and a 3D programming language and I'd get willfully lost for days.

I have thought about that a lot, so much of software is ephemeral, and I find I can never talk to anyone in the real world about it making it feel even more ephemeral.

I don't intend to retrain exactly as I do love software, but I have been trying to work with software that interacts with the real world more often, and I have been adding lots of hands on skills to my skill collection.

Working in robotics or automation could potentially be a decent blend of software and the real-world that still has career prospects, and if anyone has any suggestions on more hands-on software industries I would love to hear them.

Almost glad I'm not the only one who feels like this.

I always wonder how and why people feel differently. It is obvious, that a good chunk of programmers have no problem being passionate about completely abstract problems. I've also seen some of those programmers talk about having a mental map of the program, which they can manipulate inside their mind. Is that the difference? I don't have this mental map for code, therefore I crave a 3D representation through other means?

Let's call it the ability to physicalize mental models inside your head. I've also heard mathematicians talking about this ability. And personally, I'm way better at math that can be visualized (geometry, trigonometry, calculus and so on). Respectively, I only start to get math that can be visualized and it's my preferred way of thinking about math, not the manipulation of symbols.

Well, I'm rambling. Good luck finding a more hands on software job!

Try a treadmill desk! I used one once. Very slow speed. Just shifting your weight from foot to foot really. Ambling. Surprisingly nice!

I am in the same place. I am 46 vs 44 and run vs bike but otherwise we're twins. In the past, I'd get excited to know I had a free block of hours to sit and explore new tech or work on a new project. Now, with the same free block of time I'm itching to go explore some new trails.

47yo runner checking in. I'd rather do just about anything outside than touch a computer on my time off. Admittedly, it is a complete 180 from when I was younger.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com