Last night I was template hacking, as I mentioned in a previous post. What I did not mention was the sheer rush that I experienced when everything finally came together.
You need to understand that I view programming as achieving victory over the computer. When God created the world, He spoke into the void, bringing order from chaos. In a lesser way, I see programming as a similar act: speaking code into the chaos of a computer. Can you tell that I work in IT?
There’s an interesting arc that people pass through as they relate to computers. First there are the “computer illiterate” who don’t trust those infernal contraptions. These people are sure that computers are malevolent beings that are waiting for any excuse to wreak havoc on humanity.
Then there are “computer users”. These are people who have to use computers as part of their daily work. These folk generally think that computers are occasionally frustrating but generally functional machines that enable human beings to accomplish any number of tasks.
Then there are those few who have decided to work with computers, like programmers and systems administrators. These “computer professionals” don’t trust those infernal contraptions, and are sure that computers are malevolent beings that are waiting for any excuse to wreak havoc on humanity. The only different between the “professional” and the “illiterate” is that the computer professional knows that any computer bent on world domination would crash before it ever succeeded. Yes, even if it were a Mac.
There’s a litany in my department at work, when a helpdesk call comes back to my department. Either my co-worker Stephen or myself will get the call, which is usually some annoying problem that refuses to stay fixed. After the call, you say the litany. The one who received the call says, “I hate computers.” And the other one replies, “Me too.”
It’s liturgy. It must be done.
Honestly, I think that most IT professionals got into the business, simply because they hate computers and get a vicarious thrill about beating them into submission.
I know I do.
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