Programming the Thought Triangle

As a programmer I spend a lot of time with my mind on the problem space I'm tackling, my hands are on the keyboard, my eyes are on the screen and this trinity is my creative process.

If you start to talk to me from a room away, if you come to my door and start to wave at me to get my attention, if you keep calling my name, if you keep calling my phone or sending me texts... Do you know what you are doing?

That's right, you are totally derailing my thought process and creative flow.

You, the interrupter are pretty much responsible for costing me a complete mental problem space unload and a complete mental space reload.

That is very stressful for a programmer, it's a huge amount of mental gymnastics, which is tiring, difficult and above all unnecessary.

If you have a child at home who shows any interest in programming, and they're busy doing it, or "playing" on the computer, but there's no actual game showing, just let them, leave them be.

You don't need to train them to program a computer, you need to train yourself to not interrupt them, that screen to fingers to thought triangle needs to be left where it is they need to be left alone.

Social Media!!!  Now, I have to add a prickle problem into this, you maybe training yourself to leave a creative alone and leave them in their screen to fingers to brain triangle of creativity.  Now, is the same true of someone deep into social media?

Well, sort of, the key different I find is creativity, are they being creative in their little bubble?  Are they learning?  There are clear flagging indicators of a problem, where you do have to step in.

Communication?!?!  Even more confusing is where we come to the screen to fingers to brain communication items, I can certainly relate to being deep into typing an e-mail and someone is saying my name over and over; that person does not respect that I'm actually doing something, they do not lend any value to the fact I am trying to write an email.  Immediately I point out that I am in the midst of a creative effort, that person therefore needs to train themselves to not interrupt.  They're being rude and disrespectful.

However, is the same creative tag so easily applied to having a chat?  To having a visual chat with someone over WhatsApp for instance, no.   I don't think it can be, when two people are talking face to face you can interject; you can say excuse me I just need to tell you.... and speak, this is completely normal interruption.

The distinction interrupting someone on WhatsApp talking to a friend is simple, it's a leisure, it's not live and death.

Until it is life and death!  I had this argued with me, that you can't interrupt someone if it's life and death, and I agree.  But you know what, if you're telling someone something on the "live and death" scale of humanity over WhatsApp... Get a life!

In short, I think I keep meeting with rude, self centered, selfish people, who lack empathy and don't value that when I'm sat at my computer; I am actually doing something.  And I work at my computer, and I work at writing computer games, so you can not assume because there's a game on the screen I'm not busy.

However, if you see that 2 foot fixed gaze, my fingers flying and I am clearly engaged with the work a head of me... well it's pretty safe to say you should GO AWAY!