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Re: Religion in the Monastery.

by LAI (Hermit)
on Apr 29, 2003 at 16:48 UTC ( [id://254010]=note: print w/replies, xml ) Need Help??


in reply to Religion in the Monastery.

I'm not about to set out my stall at all, and I really don't want to turn this into a discussion about religion per se, more about the degree to which it applies or not to your work / attitude to tasks / participation in the Monastery, but I should simply say that I count myself as 'religious sometimes', with no capital letters involved anywhere.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't know how religion could really affect coding one way or another. It's not like religious perlhackers replace ($foo, $bar, $baz) with ($peter, $paul, $michael) or anything... I assume.

Am I completely wrong? Is it irrelevant? Or very relevant - is your faith an integrated part of your life and hence obviously your work?

Or the lack thereof? I'm not a Christian, but to any casual observer I might be mistaken for a one as Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and other biblical figures find their way into the things I shout at my monitor.

Levity aside, I'm curious as to what you meant by religion being a part of work, or affecting one's coding, &c.

LAI

__END__

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Re: Re: Religion in the Monastery.
by Mr. Muskrat (Canon) on Apr 29, 2003 at 17:06 UTC

    Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't know how religion could really affect coding one way or another. It's not like religious perlhackers replace ($foo, $bar, $baz) with ($peter, $paul, $michael) or anything... I assume.

    Have you read Programming Perl? It uses many different biblical figures in the examples.

    Added: So does the Perl Cookbook (it may in fact have more than Programming Perl).

      Have you read Programming Perl? It uses many different biblical figures in the examples

      I am sure this is do to the fact that Larry Wall is Christian. That said I think people should be able to put whatever they want on their homenodes. I personally do not want to have anything to do with organized religion in any way shape or form. I feel too many of these folks feel the need to impose their beliefs on others in the forms of laws or social standards. The fact the John Ashcroft when asked point blank if he believed there was really a "devil" or not he responded "yes". So one of the most powerful men in the country has a literal belief that there is a little red man with horns running around shouting "I'm the devil, I'm the devil" poking people with his pitchfork. He also made them cover up the justice statue at the DOJ because there was a bare breast showing. Of course these are extreme examples and I am sure I will get flamed by the moral minority for this post. So I guess what I am saying is that I think you should be able to post anything you want on your homenode just don't starting messaging me scripture and yes this has happened here before.

      Cheers,

      Jeffery
        So one of the most powerful men in the country has a literal belief that there is a little red man with horns running around shouting "I'm the devil, I'm the devil" poking people with his pitchfork.

        Pertinent Sinfest comic.
      A reply falls below the community's threshold of quality. You may see it by logging in.
      Programming Perl also uses %Flintstones and %Simpsons as examples. I don't hear anyone complaining about that. And as far as picking names for variables, the names should mean something. For example, if I was coding a robot, I might use $gypsy, $crow, or $cambot as variable names because I'm a fan of Mystery Science Theatre 3000, and it's a mnemonic device. By the same token, someone who is a serious Christian might use biblical figures to accomplish the same purpose.

      Here's an example, although you'd be unlikely to see it in the real world.

      A system is password-protected. In order to make the login more difficult, you have to enter your login and password three times. Each time, you will be denied access, and asked to try again. After three failed attempts, security leaves you alone, and you can enter. You might call this section of code "Peter", because the apostle Peter denied knowing Christ three times, even though he did know him. Another section might monitor user behavior, and report improper behavior back to the admin so the user can be removed. It wouldn't be reaching to call that section "Judas", because it betrays the user.

      I'm not a Christian, but I love a good pun, and I appreciate the amount of work that goes into an extended metaphor. If a person can understand their code better by using Biblical names, go nuts. As long as useability isn't hindered, say by making a variable name $I_am_going_to_hell_because_I_took_the_Lords_name_in_vain, who cares?

      -Logan
      "What do I want? I'm an American. I want more."

        Heh. This reminds me of an anonymous remailer I wrote for work called "Penet".

        I'll file the MST3K variable name idea, thanks. I rather like that one. Lots of potential for lovely in-jokes while being educational.
        $host_preference = $joel || $mike; open my $hexfield_viewscreen, "<", "/dev/rocket_number_9";

      Does it? That rings a bell, actually. It's been a while since I last read through it.

      /me makes a mental note to reread the Camel Book when he gets home

      LAI

      __END__
Re: Re: Religion in the Monastery.
by benn (Vicar) on Apr 29, 2003 at 16:59 UTC
    This is what I was seeking myself. It had never really occurred to me either that it had any bearing on my work. It was only after noticing it here that it set me thinking. Yes - I think like merlyn, I really meant spiritual rather than religious - I have never 'followed', but 'gathered' from assorted faiths / philosophies for all sorts of reasons, from 'inner healing' to sheer intellectual stimulation.

    On the other hand, I'm well aware of 'mystic' or 'fugue' states - I've been in many myself in lots of situations, ranging from musical performance through meditation to just sitting staring at a blank screen until I hit that Eureka moment. These experiences can be directed - maybe being able to 'organise' your spirituality, or having a 'firm grounding' makes a difference to some people's general attitude towards problem solving. I really don't know, but thought this was a good forum to attempt to find out. Already, answers are proving interesting on a number of levels.

    Ben.

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