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- From: 74171.2136@compuserve.com (Cris Berneburg)
- Newsgroups: alt.computer.consultants,comp.edu,comp.lang.basic.misc,comp.lang.c++,comp.lang.misc,comp.lang.pascal.borland,comp.lang.pascal.delphi.misc,comp.misc,comp.os.msdos.programmer,comp.os.os2.programmer.misc,comp.programming
- Subject: Re: Info on being a Systems Programmer/Analyst?
- Date: Fri, 29 Mar 1996 17:30:07 GMT
- Organization: CompuServe Incorporated
- Message-ID: <4jh6hu$912@dub-news-svc-3.compuserve.com>
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- Shalom Reich <sqr1874@acf4.nyu.edu> wrote:
-
- >This space intentionally left blank wrote:
- >>
- >> And if you ever get stuck and can't see the problem no matter how many
- >> dozens of hours you've looked for it, explain your frustrations to another
- >> programmer, have them glance at your code, and 9 times out of 10 they will
- >> see the problem within 30 seconds... :^)
- >>
- >> Don't feel too bad about this...you'll spot their "killer problem" in under
- >> 30 seconds some day too...nobody knows why, but this does happen. A lot.
- >>
-
- >Whenever I have analyzed why someone else saw my problem immediately and I
- >couldn't see it, it was always because I was thinking in a "groove" that was
- >completely wrong. The other person had no previous ideas about the problem
- >or the solution and so could see the problem immediately.
-
- >As a result, when I am stuck on a problem longer than usual and I don't have
- >any idea about what caused it (and no one is available) I stop and "brainstorm"
- >about any possible thing that may have caused the problem (no matter how
- >unlikely), list the possibilities on a piece of paper, prioritize them, figure
- >out a way of proving whether each item on the list is really my problem and
- >start working my way through it. Usually, I don't get too far before the
- >answer becomes obvious.
-
- >Shalom Reich
-
- There are a couple of ways I deal with this problem, and both of them
- have to do with getting away from the problem. If I'm stuck, sometimes
- it works for me to take a walk, get some fresh air, and STOP THINKING
- ABOUT THE PROBLEM. When I get back to my desk many times I'm able to
- see the problem (I have the same phrase) "within 30 seconds." Another
- way is to stop working on the project FOR THE REST OF THE DAY and do
- something else. Often times I'll have the solution while I'm waking up
- the next day or "within 30 seconds" (there's that phrase again) of
- firing up my editor when I get to work. I guess these are ways of
- getting out of the rut without having to work to climb out!
-
-
- Cris "PC-Geek" Berneburg <74171.2136@compuserve.com>
- The Basic Bombardier, Manager of Project 64
- http://ourworld.compuserve.com:80/homepages/pcgeek/
- PGP public key A1CE4355 available on keyservers
-
-