I think the problem for most programmers is that 95% of the "bugs" that typically need fixing are the least interesting ones: overlooked edge cases, dependency conflicts, misconfigured yaml files, etc. Whereas on the other hand there's about 5% of problems that, when root caused and solved to completion, makes you feel like you're on top of the world. I feel that the typical SWE gets so burnt out on the former that they often overlook or even fear the latter (mistaking complexity for endless tedium). My general habit is that if I get too bored at work I'll just put a week (or three) aside and work on a challenging / fun side project. I find that once I start to the regain the joy of hacking away at my computer (and the guilt from continually postponing deadlines kicks in), I'm less likely to shy away from taking on harder, more ambiguous challenges.
+1 on Charlie's Primer recommendation. Every time I rewatch it almost makes me regret choosing CS over physics / electrical engineering -- even though I can't admit to understanding the plot.
I think the problem for most programmers is that 95% of the "bugs" that typically need fixing are the least interesting ones: overlooked edge cases, dependency conflicts, misconfigured yaml files, etc. Whereas on the other hand there's about 5% of problems that, when root caused and solved to completion, makes you feel like you're on top of the world. I feel that the typical SWE gets so burnt out on the former that they often overlook or even fear the latter (mistaking complexity for endless tedium).
My general habit is that if I get too bored at work I'll just put a week (or three) aside and work on a challenging / fun side project. I find that once I start to the regain the joy of hacking away at my computer (and the guilt from continually postponing deadlines kicks in), I'm less likely to shy away from taking on harder, more ambiguous challenges.
+1 on Charlie's Primer recommendation. Every time I rewatch it almost makes me regret choosing CS over physics / electrical engineering -- even though I can't admit to understanding the plot.
Until I saw that diagram, I truly had no idea what was going on. Even after seeing it, I am questioning my sanity. And yet - I love the film!
"Promosm"