actually, i've thought about this when people object to the use of sports metaphors in a broader context. to the extent that anything requires the ability to concentrate and execute, and responding to an environment that is beyond your control, both programming and sports are valid metaphors, as could be the creation of art, or writing a book, or practicing a martial art.

i was going to say that perhaps the emotional aspects of life don't have a direct parallel, but now that i think about it the capacity to "keep an even keel" (yet another metaphor) is a lesson inherent in every creative act that involves a leap into the unknown. the only real danger is letting your metaphors blind you to what is going on around you. which is probably what makes terrorists what they are, blinded fools.