Perl Dreams
I’m getting on fairly well with learning Perl, but the fact that I can only study during the evenings and weekends is having an odd side effectâI’ve been programming in my dreams. I could be coding up a storm, whipping up killer Moveabletype plugins, or even my own custom content management system1, but I’ll never know. All I’m left with when I wake up is a vivid impression of having done a lot of coding, together with a few variable names and snatches of syntax. Unfortunately, I don’t remember what the programme was supposed to doâit’s all a bit sad really.
1Though nothing about my proficiency (or lack of it) while I’m awake would support this.
1
Personally, this is always my sign that I've got something fixed in my head at last. I'll be doing some study/learning so intensively, it ends up with the subconscious making sense of it via dreams. Once I've spent a night "doing" whatever I'm learning, I know I've got it sussed.
Oddly enough, I was the same with driving lessons - i'd learn something and be utterly shite at it, then by the time the next lesson came round I'd be - literally - doing it in my sleep. (I know that sounds like the opportunity for a bad pun, but 'tis actually true) Now, if only I could do the same with driving tests...----- I start doing that whenever I get too focused on a particular projec - I start having dreams where I seem to be navigating my personal life by writing code. It doesn't seem to help though
by Jo @ 24/07/2003 12:07 pm • Permalink •
2
It would be nice to think that the dreams are actually improving my coding, but I haven't seen much evidence of that yet.
Jo: I'm curious -- how do you navigate your personal life by writing code? My guess would be that there are a lot of subroutines...
by bsag @ 26/07/2003 7:07 pm • Permalink •
3
The same thing has happened with me, though with two different things. First, code: it happens to me, too. Both while I'm learning a new language (happened with both Java and Objective-C), and when I'm in a coding spurt (such as when I'm doing some heavy shell scripting at work.)
The second one is more strange. About a year ago, my wife and I were introduced to TetriNet -- an addictive, multiplayer Tetris game (PC only, this was before I Switched.) We would play it daily, often for several hours at a sitting. I quite literally dreamt of Tetris. I'd imagine the blocks falling, and I'd rotate and move them in my sleep. My wife reported having similar dreams. I never lost a game in my sleep, of course. I also got continuously improved, and I do think that the dreams helped with that.
by Nathan Ladd @ 28/07/2003 3:07 am • Permalink •
4
If you need any help Learning Perl, I can probably suggest a good book or two.
by Randal L. Schwartz @ 05/08/2003 6:09 am • Permalink •
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Hi Randal! Actually, I'm already reading your excellent 'Learning Perl' llama book and having fun with it. I'm making slow but steady progress. I'd like to congratulate you on writing such a great book -- I don't think that I've read a better 'learning to program' book (and I've read quite a few!)
by bsag @ 05/08/2003 8:09 am • Permalink •
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