What is Digg?147 Comments
- stoanhart, on 12/07/2007, -0/+63My beard is starting to gain momentum. Skills will surely follow.
- Tinu, on 12/07/2007, -0/+50For some reason it reminds me of the evolution in the World of Warcraft episode of South Park.
- JoeRandom, on 12/07/2007, -0/+41In the white male, likeness to Rasputin increases in direct proportion to programming ability.
- terminal157, on 12/07/2007, -3/+43Oh my god, you mean programmers are quirky people with poor fashion sense and a lack of social skills? You're kidding!
- xZongx, on 12/07/2007, -0/+40Define: Programmer Beard
# An evolutionary defense mechanism meant to stop procreation.
I'm just saying, some ladies like the tickler, some don't. - Gizza, on 12/07/2007, -1/+37This has nothing to do with programmers. I'm sure everyone would love to not need to take much care of their appearance if they could get away with it. Programming is just one profession in which you can.
- magamiako, on 12/07/2007, -0/+32Programming and IT in general is one of those types of jobs that attracts the eccentric thinkers. They tend to be more introverted and devote much more of their effort into technology and thought. For the most part, they really don't care too much about how they present themselves in public.
My company's IT guys have tattoos, beards, almost always wear jeans, and generally are a pretty goof off crowd. Until the average joe can walk into a wiring closet and figure out what is causing half the building to not get a network connection--then I think there's not much to talk about.
Next to anyone can plug in excel sheet values every day. Or anyone who took high school level computer classes can plug values into an Access database.
Not everyone can do the work IT guys do. Most people spend their jobs doing mindnumbing tasks or very rudimentary sets. "My plan today is I need to talk to this person, this person, this person, and then head over to this department and present this information. Sit back at my desk, browse the net and chat with some friends, and type values into an Excel workbook. Save, go home."
When it comes to being a programmer, every day is something like "I have to think up an efficient, portable, and readable design to some software. Oh, I don't know how this particular feature works. Time to spend the next hour reading up how to use a particular audio file in my software."
The fact is: IT tends to be more mentally gruelling. You are almost always called on when something needs designed/engineered or when something needs fixed, both problem solving. Whereas the average pen pusher doesn't spend nearly as much time problem solving. Finishing up an Excel workbook can wait til Monday, but getting up a connection at a new remote location needs to be up before Monday's first workday at that location.
Cut us some slack!
Oh, let's not forget - Sil369, on 12/07/2007, -1/+30You sir, are getting an F this term.
- Nematoad20, on 12/07/2007, -0/+24I cannot describe how perfectly this matches my computer science teacher. Long hair, crappy beard, dresses the same every day.
- MasterInsan0, on 12/07/2007, -0/+24Wow. I mean, I'm an athiest and even I find your comment offensive.
- freshgrease, on 12/07/2007, -0/+17About a year ago Bjarne S. (father of C++) guest lectured once or twice a month in my Into to C++ class at Texas A&M. He wore Hawaiian shirts and jeans. There isn't any BS in that article in regards to how he dresses normally.
- numberneal, on 12/07/2007, -1/+14i'd say to call the fashion police, but looking at the resemblance, i think one of those guys is an after shot of me in 40 years, without the belly, of course.
- AmazingAndrex, on 12/07/2007, -6/+19*Obligatory xkcd reference/link*
- resonator, on 12/07/2007, -1/+13Nah, there's no Hans Reiser. :)
- darkphenox, on 12/07/2007, -2/+14http://xkcd.com/225/ ?
- CCB0x45, on 12/07/2007, -0/+11*****... I'm a programmer at a major tech company since graduating college, and I just saw this article... looked in the mirror and realized that I too dress sloppy, now wear glasses instead of contacts I used to, and have a gross ass beard... I need to pull myself together... theres just something about going into work every day to sit in your own office and code and talk to people through email and IM only that makes you less apt to get dressed up and shave.
- jdmulloy, on 12/07/2007, -0/+11Maybe it's because a lot of the photos are from the 70's and 80's.
- foofoobee, on 12/07/2007, -1/+11Can't believe they left this classic photo out! http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/photos/microsoft.htm ...
- lippyjka, on 12/07/2007, -0/+10Yes
- lil_isie, on 12/07/2007, -2/+12Without a belly? Keep on dreaming.
- RuthlessPirate, on 12/07/2007, -1/+10This is partly the reason why I have a short beard and am an electrical engineer instead of computer engineer.
- inactive, on 12/07/2007, -0/+9The more time you spend chasing bugs the less time you have to shave, never mind the hair.
Most real nerds are multidisciplinary so in that case even less time.
So when I wake up and discover a soupy beard I know it's time for a vacation, shaving optional...... - _HAM_, on 12/07/2007, -0/+9Because we can.
As a software engineer I don't sell ***** or provide customer service or any other *****. I have to interact with my coworkers and my boss, but guess what, they don't sell ***** or do customer service either. But to be honest most of the people I work with, and myself, are pretty clean cut.
The strictest rule at my office is: don't pop popcorn in the microwave. It stinks up the place. - Corvidae, on 12/07/2007, -0/+9Show me the programmer that doesn't constantly make typos...
- RoboDonut, on 12/07/2007, -0/+8Ha!
We all know that nobody at Microsoft actually does any programming.
They have a room full of monkeys with typewriters. If they don't code fast enough, Ballmer starts throwing chairs. - trogdoor, on 12/07/2007, -0/+8If you can't trust Donaldl Knuth's code what the can you trust?
- vengefuldrx, on 12/07/2007, -0/+8Ohhh bravo lad, because EE and CE aren't 4 classes different from each other.
/sarcasm - DPowers08, on 12/07/2007, -0/+8My computer science teacher: http://www.cs.umass.edu/~moll/
- djbon2112, on 12/07/2007, -0/+7I REALLY hope someone just forgot a "/sarcasm" tag somewhere in there.
*rolleyes*
(P.S. I second MasterInsan0 in his entire comment) - inactive, on 12/07/2007, -0/+7i feel really bad now so many of these people sacrificed a lot of time and put in a ridiculous amount of hard work and brainpower and i use it to touch myself.. thank you to them all and I'll try to keep it down to a minimum
- jbmcb, on 12/07/2007, -0/+7I'm a programmer - I usually wear khakis and a button-down shirt to work. I think it's a lot more comfortable than wearing jeans and a t-shirt, the fabrics and fit are much better. On casual Friday's I wear a jacket and tie - it's technically casual :)
And just to back up my geek cred (as if I care) I have about seventy classic computers in my basement, everything from PDP-11s to an SGI Octane. Most are networked, including the 8-bits ;) - ruthless34, on 12/07/2007, -2/+8Who cares about what the ladies think? These guys are immortals for what they did.
- Murdats, on 12/07/2007, -0/+6...
var = ConsultGod();
... - kinda4, on 12/07/2007, -0/+6Well spoken. So hard to explain this to people when they say things like, "oh my god, you're a software engineer? you must be so miserable at work! have you ever created ANYTHING?"
(pisses me right off) - mllawso, on 12/07/2007, -0/+6I can't shake the suspicion that your comp sci teacher is a alien parasitoid disguised as a baby.
- AnthonyA7, on 12/07/2007, -0/+6No PDP-7? Poser...
/kidding, because that's a sweet collection anyway - ruthless34, on 12/07/2007, -0/+6Gentlemen, I give you the definition of a douche in action.
- ruthless34, on 12/07/2007, -2/+8"The fact is: IT tends to be more mentally gruelling. You are almost always called on when something needs designed/engineered or when something needs fixed, both problem solving."
Another reason why there so few women in IT... - Kruez, on 12/07/2007, -1/+6Hippies!! The whole lot of 'em!
- MikeonTV, on 12/07/2007, -0/+5If you look in the comments the list continues.
- drmangrum, on 12/07/2007, -0/+5I never understood why corporate america insists on making software people wear monkey suits. I am able to code in blue jeans and a t-shirt for a company that is in the middle of the fortune 100 list. I don't think i could work anywhere else after experiencing employers that actually get it.
- newl, on 12/07/2007, -1/+6As a programmer myself, I have been the person with the long hair, beard, etc. Recently though since I have been with my current girlfriend, I have made more of an effort to maintain myself and my personal image in the way I look and dress (e.g. I shave daily now to a clean face and having spent a considerable amount of money on clothing recently began to dress more nicely). Perhaps it is a mid-life crisis or perhaps it is just me giving more than a rats ass as to how I present and feel about myself alone or with her.
- capiCrimm, on 12/07/2007, -0/+5that suc ...
- MadOtaku, on 12/07/2007, -0/+5Maybe it's just because I'm in Oregon. But most men here (about 75%) have beards and of those, maybe half have full facial hair. Is it really that uncommon elsewhere?
- av4rice, on 12/07/2007, -0/+5Alan Kay looks way more like Kurt Vonnegut than a sad Burt Reynolds
- PatrickBrown, on 12/07/2007, -0/+5Lack of caring. Shaving / getting a hair cut is done to please society more than anything (unlike, for example, brushing teeth that will prevent cavities and therefore is considered hygiene).
Having sported similar appearances I would say it is the lack of caring what society thinks of you while at the same time realizing that the time could be spent doing other things... such as programming ;) - Firehed, on 12/07/2007, -0/+5Me! I do it intentionally to keep company profits low by forcing them to add testing staff and to keep upper management down-to-earth.
- Cabal, on 12/07/2007, -0/+4Oddly enough, all my CS teaches are quite clean cut and dress nicely. One of them wears the same outfit everyday though...
the list fits all the students quite well - inactive, on 12/07/2007, -0/+4There is a story at Folklore.org about an Apple programmer named Burrell Smith who couldn't get promoted until he grew a beard. I would link it, but I know Digg would just truncate the thing.
- GaryK, on 12/07/2007, -0/+4I've been a developer since we were called programmers. My hair is long, I have a beard. I wear clean jeans, a pocket t-shirt and faded Hawaiian shirts every day. I also take a shower and brush my teeth twice a day. Other than that I'd rather be working on my projects. What are these "girls" I keep hearing about? They sound interesting, LOL.
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