Outside The Box
Random thoughts about AutoCAD, ObjectARX, and the meaning of life.
All Original Content Copyright 2006 - 2008 Owen Wengerd, All Rights Reserved
2006-12-04
Have you made your mistake today?
It may seem strange to some of you, but I consider myself an artist. Visual Studio is my canvas, and the keyboard is my paintbrush. This is why I wouldn't survive in a stuffy corporate environment with committees, red tape, and politics. I'm a visionary, not a software engineer. I don't like to plan every little detail; I'd rather start with a grand vision and just let the code go wherever my vision leads it.
I confess this can be both a strength and a weakness. For example, I'll spend two weeks refactoring perfectly working code because I don't think it's elegant enough. On the other hand, aesthetic beauty of structure and architecture is every bit as important in software as it is in other fields. It's just that the benefits are intangible and more difficult to quantify.
Perfectly working code, you say? I admit, that's a bit of a rarity these days. It's a rarity precisely because not many programmers consider programming as an art form. Real artists are never satisfied with their work; they never stop working toward absolute perfection of both form and function.
This leads me to my real point. I have a favorite saying, "Have you made your mistake today?" Ironically, perfection can only be achieved by making mistakes. If you're not making mistakes, you're not learning. If you're not learning, you're not taking any risks. If you're not taking any risks, you're achieving mediocrity at best. Learn to make mistakes gracefully. Enjoy your capacity to learn and evolve toward perfection, no matter what kind of art you create.
I confess this can be both a strength and a weakness. For example, I'll spend two weeks refactoring perfectly working code because I don't think it's elegant enough. On the other hand, aesthetic beauty of structure and architecture is every bit as important in software as it is in other fields. It's just that the benefits are intangible and more difficult to quantify.
Perfectly working code, you say? I admit, that's a bit of a rarity these days. It's a rarity precisely because not many programmers consider programming as an art form. Real artists are never satisfied with their work; they never stop working toward absolute perfection of both form and function.
This leads me to my real point. I have a favorite saying, "Have you made your mistake today?" Ironically, perfection can only be achieved by making mistakes. If you're not making mistakes, you're not learning. If you're not learning, you're not taking any risks. If you're not taking any risks, you're achieving mediocrity at best. Learn to make mistakes gracefully. Enjoy your capacity to learn and evolve toward perfection, no matter what kind of art you create.
Labels: artist, perfection
About Me
- Name: Owen Wengerd
- Location: Apple Creek, Ohio, United States
I'm a starving artist specializing in the programming genre. I work in my home office, where I am the owner and sole proprietor of ManuSoft as well as the President and chief software artist of CADLock, Inc.
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Recent Comments
caddguru:Perhaps you are more of an architect, a field that combines both art and technique.
I remember during Engineering school at LMU having a discussion with my Statics professor. He had completed the design of a structure that lifts the Space Shuttles onto a 747 jet for a piggy back ride to the East coast.
I remarked how I imagined he must have spent so much time trying to fine tune that design, making it the most efficient.
Instead of being happy he became angry, saying: "We're engineers, not physicists. We only care about input requirements and design output that works. You should change majors to physics, not engineering."
There is a place for speed at all costs, like waging a war or trying to diagnose and treat a patient's cancer. In those cases, elegant solutions might cost human lives.
It seems to me that at one extreme, artists are the ones who can take forever to write beautiful poems, or songs, or elegant code.
Architects, OTOH, weigh aesthetics and function.
Engineers, at the other extreme, generally are only required to care about satisfying codes and minimum safety and functional requirements.
It is great to see talented people who have the gift of speed and elegance in one shot. It is like musicians who create great music on the go while they improvise.
@ October 26, 2007 12:10:00 PM EDT
I remember during Engineering school at LMU having a discussion with my Statics professor. He had completed the design of a structure that lifts the Space Shuttles onto a 747 jet for a piggy back ride to the East coast.
I remarked how I imagined he must have spent so much time trying to fine tune that design, making it the most efficient.
Instead of being happy he became angry, saying: "We're engineers, not physicists. We only care about input requirements and design output that works. You should change majors to physics, not engineering."
There is a place for speed at all costs, like waging a war or trying to diagnose and treat a patient's cancer. In those cases, elegant solutions might cost human lives.
It seems to me that at one extreme, artists are the ones who can take forever to write beautiful poems, or songs, or elegant code.
Architects, OTOH, weigh aesthetics and function.
Engineers, at the other extreme, generally are only required to care about satisfying codes and minimum safety and functional requirements.
It is great to see talented people who have the gift of speed and elegance in one shot. It is like musicians who create great music on the go while they improvise.