I love the quote, and mostly agree with it. Coders can't do it by themselves. Between the head and the hand lies the heart. People talk about artists not being understood, but how many people really understand software engineers?! Yes, they are uniquely developed/flawed people. Cut them a break, 'k?!
Still, Netochka Nezvanova sounds like such an annoying fabrication. Glad I don't have to deal with that non-entity on a regular basis. I'd just have to suspend them, most likely. I love creative, talented individuals, but if Jackson Pollock pissed in my fireplace, I'd still kick his ass out of my house. There are places for such displays, and they usually involve large warehouses and lots of rubber sheeting, a la Throbbing Gristle. Who knows? I just might pay to see it... somewhere else.
I find this quote ironic, since while I was writing an earlier post, I actually deleted a somewhat off-topic paragraph where I was describing how I primarily defined myself (other than being a bisexual, kinky polyamorist...)
It went something like this:
At heart, I am a person that likes to enable others to express themselves creatively. I am a generalist, because specializing in any one thing bores me. I would probably be good at being an artist, but their work is entirely too exacting for me. I can't draw to save my life... if I were an artist, I would paint with a big, big brush. I'm far more interested in creating big concepts that enable others to do their thing. In a sense, that is what I try to do with LiveJournal. Perhaps I should be called a macroartist.
Sometimes when trying to be a "Business Manager", I find that I censor myself. I try to be tactful. I try to smooth over the rough spots, calm things down, and impart a sense of perspective (i.e. The Big Picture). I have this inherited proper English propriety and many years of social rejection telling me that I should be restrained... as such, I am repulsed by drama and pretense, but at the same time, I can't be an observer all the time... Sometimes I like to participate and to create - to be a part of the drama and to risk being branded as part of the pretense of it all. Sad to say, but the drama and the pretense is where it's at sometimes, you know?! Mostly though, I just want to be left alone, in peace... until I decide that I don't want to be left alone anymore. At that point, I want intensity, decadence, and depravity. I want a good night out.
Yes, I am more knowledgeable than most, and yes I am a manager. If that makes me a backseat driver or an armchair general, sobeit. I'm not infallible, but my advice is on target far more often than not. Still, here goes the know-it-all...
The nice thing, however, is that people can call me on it. I am sick of reading websites where "technical experts" pontificate on matters, yet don't allow their readers to comment. They're a bunch of cult leaders and soap salesmen... I like a good debate, and in most situations, I can rip my critics a new one. Why?! Because I form opinions based on all the credible information I can gather. I don't need to tell people to talk to the hand; they can check the facts instead.
When I occasionally stop writing for days, I'm probably sick of reading my own words... a pretense in itself. (Either that, or I am catching up on the decadence and depravity... in which case, my lips are *mostly* sealed.) Still, words are a key part of my job, right? Might as well be me doing the job. I'm better at it than most.
