Re: [OT] General bad habits and characteristics (non programming).

What's a bad habit in a non-programming context, can be a good thing to a programmer. (eg, the three virtues)

Personally, I'm obsessive compulsive, and a packrat. I'm not really certain that either one is all that useful to this profession though:

Obsessive compulsive:: Nothing ever seems good enough--I always want to improve things. Of course, this means that I hate declaring something to be a final release. I'd leave things in beta longer than Google, if I could get away with it.
Packrat:: Yes, there's the odd humor when people come to me looking for odd things (a DB25 to RJ45 adaptor, packing peanuts, WD40, random tools, VHB, etc.), and I actually have them, and it can be useful to keep every e-mail, so that you can justify the changes to the system, but I have way too much crap on/in/under my desk at work, and I use more than half my house for storage.

Oh -- and I hate making phone calls. It might have something to with having doing tech support during my undergrad, but I don't even like checking voicemail or calling for pizza.

Update: I said that I was obsessive compulsive. I never claimed to have OCD or OCPD. I do, however, exhibit every one of the typical indicators of an obsessive compulsive personality (some of them I'm slowly overcoming):

is preoccupied with details, rules, lists, order, organization, or schedules to the extent that the major point of the activity is lost
shows perfectionism that interferes with task completion (e.g., is unable to complete a project because his or her own overly strict standards are not met)
is excessively devoted to work and productivity to the exclusion of leisure activities and friendships (not accounted for by obvious economic necessity)
is overconscientious, scrupulous, and inflexible about matters of morality, ethics, or values (not accounted for by cultural or religious identification)
is unable to discard worn-out or worthless objects even when they have no sentimental value
is reluctant to delegate tasks or to work with others unless they submit to exactly his or her way of doing things
adopts a miserly spending style toward both self and others; money is viewed as something to be hoarded for future catastrophes
shows rigidity and stubbornness

Comment on Re: [OT] General bad habits and characteristics (non programming).

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Re^2: [OT] General bad habits and characteristics (non programming). by 5mi11er (Deacon) on Jun 23, 2005 at 20:32 UTC
++, yep, uncomfortably close description of several of my characteristics. I'd add wanting to use time as efficiently as possible such that I'm nearly always 2-5 minutes late to meetings, yet can waste entire weeks doing nothing of importance I hate making my own appointments for anything, but otherwise, phone calls aren't a problem for me. I've noticed that the details are generally unimportant to me unless I need that knowledge for something in the IMMEDIATE future. ie within half an hour. Otherwise, I just think, "eh, I can always look up the details". This infuriates my wife, who insists that I just ignore everything she tells me. She's not too far off the mark there... My eyes are drawn, irrevocably, to movement, my brain to general understanding. Turn on a TV near me, and you can forget about me getting anything else done. My wife uses the TV as background "noise", I can't funtion while it's on... -Scott	[reply]
Re^3: [OT] General bad habits and characteristics (non programming). by techcode (Hermit) on Jun 24, 2005 at 22:12 UTC
I got an solution for your 'beeing late' problem. I simply shifted my clock(s) 5 minutes "into the future" :) If you need more time then shift it more :) Of course, since I know that I did that. It's not as good as if somebody else did it without my knowledge, but in all that rush not to be late - I dont think about it.	[reply]
Re^4: [OT] General bad habits and characteristics (non programming). by Nkuvu (Priest) on Jun 25, 2005 at 00:25 UTC
This works for me with my alarm clock. When I'm not fully conscious I don't remember that I've set the clock ahead, so I get up earlier than I would by setting the clock to the correct time.	[reply]
Re^2: [OT] General bad habits and characteristics (non programming). by Anonymous Monk on Jun 23, 2005 at 17:04 UTC
Obsessive compulsive: Nothing ever seems good enough--I always want to improve things. Of course, this means that I hate declaring something to be a final release. I'd leave things in beta longer than Google, if I could get away with it. Wow, that sounds absolutely nothing like OCD. It's a shame that so many people trivialize OCD by equating it with innocuous personality traits like perfectionism or tidyness. OCD is a terrible condition to have -- characterized by uncontrollable, irrational, and paralyzing anxiety. Using OCD to label what you've described is like telling people that I have Alzheimer's because I keep forgetting the syntax for pack and need to use perldoc every time. </rant>	[reply]
Re^3: [OT] General bad habits and characteristics (non programming). by Adrade (Pilgrim) on Jun 24, 2005 at 00:07 UTC
Well, a person can meet some but not all of the diagnostic criteria of any illness - to the aforementioned point, these disorders are usually diagnosed when the disorder significantly disrupts the patients life - jobs, friends, other social functioning, etc. Of course, if the symptoms of any condition were to advance a person's life, it could never really be considered an illness. I don't think that anyone was trying to trivialize any illness, and its apt to note that OCD quite probably is related to the quasi-obsessions of which the original poster speaks, although on a massive, overgrown, and uncontrollable scale. Also, you are quite right, imo, to mention that OCD is quite terrible as, in most cases, it very dramatically prevents the sufferer from living a normal life, and can be quite sad to witness. Fortunately, psychologists are now making advances in cognitive therapies to augment the more traditional behavioral methods that have shown success, and psychopharm researchers have shown treatment efficacy using the relatively safe SSRI class of antidepressants. -Adam -- Impossible! The Remonster can only be killed by stabbing him in the heart with the ancient bone saber of Zumakalis!	[reply]