Why do you like programming?
I like the logic of it, and the direct progression of learning gained from it. In programming its like i have a persistent memory of progress that i don't have in my physical life.
Ive been mostly programming in puredata for the past 5 years, its become my environment for creating mathematical ideas, its perfect for my head. I prefer it over anything else as its very fast for me to build function programs without so much boilerplate syntax to deal with like most langauges. Ive also played with processing a bit which i love for graphics generation but am now using ofelia within puredata, which is an implementation of openframeworks, which is a similar environment to processing but c# based.
The work ive done with puredata has turned into a life project for me, its a place i can realise my huge ideas for music performance and generation, and light and video generation, somewhere i can realise my synathesia. Its turing into this project i call LiquidGrid, i actually have a funding page up to try get funding to build prototype hardware units, as thats the greater goal. Check it out here: www.polrtechnologies.com
Its a funny journey, i was terrible at math in school but thanks to my own interests persevering i've taught myself a lot of useful math within programming and through some fantastic youtube tutors like 3blue1brown.
Oh and it ticks that ocd box looking for efficiency too, i can actually always improve efficiency with programming, eventually to the timing of a cpu clock switching a bit on and off, so there all this room for me to go completely obsessive without pissing anyone off
I like the puzzle aspect of it, the rules about what the commands do are absolute, so as long as I use the right syntax, it will work. If it doesn't, I have to track down the mistake. Good mental exercise, uses focus and logical reasoning, needs strong error-checking skills and an understanding of simple experimental design.
Another reason is that I like genuine labour-saving devices, and a lot of programs are mostly about making hard things easy. Certainly that's the purpose of most of the routines I write.
I also like the feeling that I'm not succumbing to the dummying-down of computers........I sometimes think that Microsoft etc. don't want me to know much about programming, they'd rather I just bought something and upgraded in the vain hope that it might do what I want it to.
And other people's programs often don't quite work how I'd like them to, or the instructions are badly explained, whereas if I write it myself, I can tailor it to make sure the features I want are easy to access, and I don't have a learning curve because I've written the program myself, so I already know exactly how to use it.
THIS! This is why I love applied math in general. I'm studying actuarial science in school and I find the pattern recognition amazingly fun and therapeutic. It's so good to adhere to structure. It's soothing.
Btw this is the aspiest thing I've read in days, so thanks for outdoing yourself Tough Diamond.
^
I hadn't thought of it as particularly Aspie, but on reflection there's the error-checking skills and the beauty of working with something that can turn out perfect, as well as the absolute reliability of the "tools" (i.e. the language) when correctly applied. I can't think of any other walk of life where that happens.