Aptitudes

A thought: Throughout Middle School and High School I was undeniably a Math Geek. I was lots of other kinds of geekery too, mind you, but math in particular followed me around for a long while. I really liked and felt comfortable with symbolics in particular, running the gamut from Algebra to Differential Equations. Dealing with equations seemed an almost tactile experience; I could feel in my mind how each variable fit up against the other, like a sliding puzzle in textual form. But the truly "Math Major" type stuff never really engaged me -- set theory in particular. Outside of symbolics it all seemed either too concrete or too abstract; I couldn't "feel" it in the same way, and it all felt clumsy and tiring to hold it all together in my mind.

I think this sense is what drew me to programming. It feels like the same sort of sliding puzzle trick as the math used to. Move this block of code here, add a function here...it's a very tactile and pleasant experience. Finding bugs becomes a matter of feeling around for rough pieces, the same way an improperly written equation just feels wrong.

Thinking about it, I wonder just how many areas this sense enters into. Certainly my interests in chemistry and linguistics follow from it. Music, too -- I love music with good texture, drumming especially. My spirituality tends to be derived from grooving on this sense, trying to apply it to my life and to the world at large. And I suppose one day I hope to extend it to other skills -- writing, perhaps.

It's strange to realize how much of my life is dominated by this feeling. But I am truly grateful for it, and I can't imagine life without it.

Aptitudes

A thought: Throughout Middle School and High School I was undeniably a Math Geek. I was lots of other kinds of geekery too, mind you, but math in particular followed me around for a long while. I really liked and felt comfortable with symbolics in particular, running the gamut from Algebra to Differential Equations. Dealing with equations seemed an almost tactile experience; I could feel in my mind how each variable fit up against the other, like a sliding puzzle in textual form. But the truly "Math Major" type stuff never really engaged me -- set theory in particular. Outside of symbolics it all seemed either too concrete or too abstract; I couldn't "feel" it in the same way, and it all felt clumsy and tiring to hold it all together in my mind.

I think this sense is what drew me to programming. It feels like the same sort of sliding puzzle trick as the math used to. Move this block of code here, add a function here...it's a very tactile and pleasant experience. Finding bugs becomes a matter of feeling around for rough pieces, the same way an improperly written equation just feels wrong.

Thinking about it, I wonder just how many areas this sense enters into. Certainly my interests in chemistry and linguistics follow from it. Music, too -- I love music with good texture, drumming especially. My spirituality tends to be derived from grooving on this sense, trying to apply it to my life and to the world at large. And I suppose one day I hope to extend it to other skills -- writing, perhaps.

It's strange to realize how much of my life is dominated by this feeling. But I am truly grateful for it, and I can't imagine life without it.