This is not me
Jan. 6th, 2002 11:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
andrewduckerFrom Dive Into Mark:
In sixth grade, we got an Apple //e computer. Actually, my father got it so he could type up the book he was writing for his sabbatical. But I found out that by programming it, I could make it do whatever I wanted. Or at least whatever I could break down into simple enough steps that the computer could understand. This had four effects on my personality.
The computer replaced my social life. This went more or less unnoticed.
Because I was constantly programming, I learned to break down everything I did into simple, logical steps, as if I were writing a computer program. I very rarely now get overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to do, because I never look at all of it at once. I take this bit and finish it, then that bit, then the next.
75% of my creative juices went down the drain forever.
I discovered that I was in complete control while I was in front of the computer, and when I did have to interact with people, I wanted that same control. I am not an outgoing person, but I am dominating.
Reactions to this now, 12 years later:
It shows a surprising level of self-awareness not normally found in teenagers.
My sense of humor was etched in stone by then, and it has not changed a bit since.
The rest of my personality has also changed very little. I have mellowed (slightly) in the past 12 years, but not actually changed much.
I would now disagree with the creative-juices-down-the-drain part. I didn't realize at the time how creative programming could be.
In sixth grade, we got an Apple //e computer. Actually, my father got it so he could type up the book he was writing for his sabbatical. But I found out that by programming it, I could make it do whatever I wanted. Or at least whatever I could break down into simple enough steps that the computer could understand. This had four effects on my personality.
The computer replaced my social life. This went more or less unnoticed.
Because I was constantly programming, I learned to break down everything I did into simple, logical steps, as if I were writing a computer program. I very rarely now get overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to do, because I never look at all of it at once. I take this bit and finish it, then that bit, then the next.
75% of my creative juices went down the drain forever.
I discovered that I was in complete control while I was in front of the computer, and when I did have to interact with people, I wanted that same control. I am not an outgoing person, but I am dominating.
Reactions to this now, 12 years later:
It shows a surprising level of self-awareness not normally found in teenagers.
My sense of humor was etched in stone by then, and it has not changed a bit since.
The rest of my personality has also changed very little. I have mellowed (slightly) in the past 12 years, but not actually changed much.
I would now disagree with the creative-juices-down-the-drain part. I didn't realize at the time how creative programming could be.
