In comp.lang.c Janis Papanagnou <
janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 2026-07-31 20:11, R Kym Horsell wrote:
In comp.lang.c Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 2026-07-31 19:09, R Kym Horsell wrote:
In comp.lang.c Mr. Man-wai Chang <toylet.toylet@gmail.com> wrote:
What is a genius programmer?
[...]
"According to MIT computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum, the archetype
popularly celebrated as a "genius programmer" or "hacker" is actually
a "compulsive programmer" - a deeply troubled, pathological figure who >>> has lost touch with reality. In his seminal 1976 book, Computer Power
and Human Reason, Weizenbaum rejects the idea that these individuals
are true creative geniuses. Instead, he describes them as victims of
a psychological compulsion who mistake technical dominance over a
machine for actual power in the real world."
LOL. Computer scientist making psychiatric assesments?
Actually no; he was viewing and analyzing the situation more on the
level of society (or how computers changed the common mindset about
...
LOL.
It's common that people make a hash of things when they step
out of their area of expertise.
You have to be careful and go by the actual published literature
rather than substitute your own opinion or "experience" which
generally boils down to making statements that sound an awful lot
like projection rather than fact.
In the case of "what is a hacker" there should have been some
kind of assessment of personality types in general.
Since Jung there have at least been introverts and extroverts.
These types are sometimes attracted to the same kinds of professions
or activities but their motivations and internal workings are
typically "the opposite".
E.g. scientists can be either introverts or extroverts.
Introverts by definition are concerned about the inner workings of
their own minds and by extention are concerned more with what things
are rather than how they appear.
Extroverts are somewhat the opposite.
The classical literature argues that extroverted scientists tend to
gather all the knowlege they can and then become gatekeepers and
prevent newcomers trying to change things. Many well-known names
have tried to destroy their younger colleages because they had a
"new fangled idea". They can also be know for flying into an
incoherent tantrum when their position of authority is challeged by
peers. :)
Introverted scientists OTOH degenerate another way. Their own thoughts
become more important than prizes or applause and they can wander off
into obscure areas they are interested in but only share that
interest with a handful of other people in the world.
Hackers -- we presume they are people -- undoubtedly fall into
similar patterns rather than the one-size-fits-all musing from
the good Dr J.
--
Projection, the mental process by which people attribute to others what is
in their own minds. The concept was introduced to psychology by
Sigmund Freud.
-- britannica
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