As bizarre as it may sound, i would actually...like literally be flattered if i were to be called a geek because that would mean programming is my kind of thing. It's more of a compliment really. And hey, i don't know about the rest of the world but i sure as hell have a lot of respect for "geeks".
However, now that i'm starting to indulge in this programming world, i've been told that there's one thing a lot of geeks hesitate doing. They don't write. (Hence the title)
So if you're a geek, this is me trying to convince you to write and here are my reasons:
1. Communication and connection
2. Remembering mistakes
3. Educating the next generation
1. Communication and connection
Why does any skilled being have the need to communicate? You may be an absolute genius but you might still be regarded as non-top-notch material because you can't convey your ideas well enough. It's like the circumstance where students complain that their TA's at university "know what they're talking about but can't explain it properly". I read a blog by Joel Spolsky (provided by our professors) that spoke of the same issue, addressing that Linus Torvalds wouldn't have been so successful if he hadn't
communicated or reached out to the public about the credibilities of Linux. This makes even more sense if you're aiming to be a software or game developer. How can you sell your product if you can't convince people it's worth their time? In a way, programmers should jump into their multi-tasking suits and kill two birds with a single stone i.e. being a sick programmer and a sick salesperson. Aside from game and software developers, writing is still a significant part of any other programmer's life because later on, they need to publish their findings in local or international journals. It looks good on a résumé and that's what bosses look for when they offer well-paid jobs.
2. Remembering mistakes
I've recently come across debugging journals by programmers (also provided by our professors) that keep a record of the mistakes they've made. That's generally a really good idea because the human brain isn't so perfect; A person really can't remember EVERY SINGLE DETAIL of every single mistake and expect it never to happen again. We're all humans, we all make mistakes. How do we fix this? We write it down so we're able to consult it later and recall how to solve the issue.
3. Educating the next generation
If you're a skilled programmer and you've come across some very interesting programming experiences and learned certain techniques, letting the baby programmers know about them can really help them out in the future. Aside from debugging journals, i've also seen and read a few blogs that really talk about what's going on, what kind of issues some programmers face, which job aspect is really popular at the moment and other things that give an idea of what to expect in the future. I personally think it's a great idea to keep people posted.
Writing in general is a good habit. In a way, it helps a person put their life together. It's not just programmers, it's beneficial for everyone, no matter what field they're in. Even as a physicist or a statistician, when you really get into the theoretical and applicational aspects of the subject, you write and present to your colleagues at work. It's a habit that can significantly bring improvements to a person's life.
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