On 15-2-2015 12:24, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:
>>> I haven't met them. Everybody I've met regards having technical
>>> knowledge as only something "nerds" and "losers" have - including the
>>> people I work with, who are all professional computer programmers. They
>>> all know how to write C#, yet they seem to think that understanding
>>> relational algebra or knowing how floating-point arithmetic works is
>>> only for lamers.
>>
>> That is because you have academic interests. Most professional computer
>> programmers, I work with. Do it because it is a job. Not for love.
>
> This.
>
> Everybody I met at university was like "OMG, this is SOOO boring! Just
> give me the piece of paper so I can start earning thousands of pounds
> per hour as a top London computing consultant."
>
> Everybody seemed to think that computing is *excruciatingly* boring, but
> also that there's billions of pounds in it. Like, if you have any
> computer skills at all, you're going to be a millionaire. (Still, it
> *was* right around the height of the dot-com bubble I suppose...)

I am not a computer professional so that world is indeed foreign to me, 
but what you and Stephen are saying truly appals me... But then I may be 
from an alien planet: I have never been /really/ interested in money... :-)

>
>>>> And I agree with John: you would be an excellent teacher.
>>>
>>> Again, I don't know. I'm good at writing long monologues that nobody
>>> will ever read; interacting with a room full of live humans is quite
>>> different. It requires a different skill set.

That last is indeed true but can be learned with practice (like 
dancing). Writing skills, which you have already, is more difficult to 
learn. I must say that I enjoy your long monologues btw.

>>
>> Unless you can use your competitive dancing skills to be in front of an
>> audience.
>
> Uh, I do competitive dancing; what makes you think I have *skills*? :-P
>
> Unless you mean I give the lecture while dancing the quickstep. ^_-

Seriously, in a good lecture before an audience, some kind of 
choreography (even body language) is of paramount importance. Whatever 
the subject.

>
>>> My Dad tells me [so I don't know how true this is] that Bach was a
>>> virtuoso organ player, but a HORRIBLE teacher. He just couldn't
>>> understand why nobody else could play like him...
>>
>> And his throw away scales became the Brandenburg Concertos.
>
> Hey, I think I have the score for that somewhere...

Great stuff indeed.

-- 
Thomas

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