In order to get a better understanding of what the featured jokes mean, especially if you’re out of the computer science universe, we got in touch with Saulė, an expert in programming, who works for a solution-based company based in Lithuania. In her free time, she likes to travel and explore the unknown all around the world. Asked to briefly explain what programming is to someone who has never heard of it before, Saulė was kind enough to tell us: “It's like talking in different kinds of languages. The programmer has specific grammar and with it should explain to a foreigner what to do. So the programmer gets the client's requirements or problem and has to explain the solution to the computer.”
We were wondering what inspired Saulė to become a programmer and what she enjoys most about it. The programmer shared with us: “As a child, I loved to solve puzzles and riddles. When I got older I thought that making 3D animation was cool, and as nowadays they usually make it with IT tools, I should become a programmer. But it was not fully true. Still, I became a programmer. Programmers have more complicated puzzles and riddles, but still, by using logic, have to solve a problem. Results are the most enjoyable. It's fun to see what was created and think that it will be helpful.”
There are a lot of misconceptions and stereotypes related to each profession. We know that many of them exist regarding the world of programming. We were curious what are some common misconceptions that programmers would like to debunk. Saulė mentioned a couple of them: “Men are less emotional and more logical than women, so they are better programmers. It's not true. Quality of work depends on personality, skills, and professionalism.”
The programmer continued: “Not all programmers are nerds, geeks, or socially awkward. It is a misconception created by old movies or maybe some exceptional individuals create some really strong impressions.” And finally: “Programming is not just about writing a code. Most of the time solving problems takes a lot of thinking, planning, researching, investigating, collaborating, and writing the code can sometimes be 10 percent of all work.”
Lastly, asked what some common themes or topics that programmers often joke about are, and why this particular humor resonates with the community the most, Saulė highlighted: “Most of the time programmers need to think in a way that computers 'understand'. Meaning using math logic. So a lot of jokes come from 'pure' logic, which doesn't make sense or are really silly in the real world. Also, tool names, phrases, etc. have two meanings.”
