For real. Everytime I get in the shower I end up having to point the showerhead away and cower from the cold water and I could have just turned it on first?

  • TrackinDaKraken
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    1533 days ago

    “I’m working on my masters and I feel like such a dumbass…”

    Never assume someone with an advanced degree knows anything outside of that degree because “they must be smart”.

    • Hemingways_Shotgun
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      383 days ago

      There is a difference between “intelligent” and “smart” is the way I like to describe myself.

      I’m college educated. But I’m also the guy that took twelve years to realize that his stove had a cook-timer on it…

    • @[email protected]
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      323 days ago

      I worked with someone who was working on his second PhD in computer science and the guy did not know how to print.

      Literally couldn’t figure out how to click the print button.

      In computer science.

      PhD.

      Computers.

      • @[email protected]
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        132 days ago

        ‘Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes’

        • Dijkstra, 1970
      • @[email protected]
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        323 days ago

        I’ve worked in tech for almost 20 years. A big misconception is confusing Computer Science and IT. Computer Science is generally more about logic, data structures, and programming paradigms across languages. IT is generally more about the configuration, deployment and usage of technology and operating systems for end users.

        There’s a ton of nuance in there, like Infrastructure or devops, where it’s about the deployment of technology software and hardware to power large technology services, which sits in the middle.

        That being said, I’ve generally found that the more specialized someone is in computer science, the less they know about the operating system they use and how it works. Especially if they spent the time to go for a PhD or something.

        The smartest programmer I’ve ever met is my boss, our CTO. PhD from an Ivy League school. Can write haskell on a napkin, even though our stack doesn’t touch haskell. Also doesn’t know shit about how MacOS works even though he uses a Mac, and consistently asks me relatively simple questions regarding unix/linux differences, filesystem stuff, package managers, etc. It’s very interesting to see the difference in knowledge.

        • @[email protected]
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          11 day ago

          Wouldn’t it make sense though for computer scientists to make some effort to actually learn how to do practical things on computers? This seem weird to me, like a car designer who never drives. Sure you could probably design a decent vehicle never having driven one, but you might make a fantastic vehicle if you have.

        • @[email protected]
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          122 days ago

          Absolutely. I’m a tech, hubs is a dev. Brilliant dev, one of the foremost specialists in my country.

          Can’t build a pc for shit, can’t fix a network issue, screams for wifey when the printer’s being a dick :D

          • @[email protected]
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            42 days ago

            Haha I’m unsure if “opposites attract” fits here, but perhaps “there’s no computer science without the computer”

            • @[email protected]
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              42 days ago

              nah, no opposites here, but it’s been funny watching over the years (we met outta uni) how extreme specialisation has pruned other branches. He isn’t fussed, I buy / setup/maintain all the equipment and like all BOFH I’m a raging control freak so I like he doesn’t try to play with the setup.

          • @[email protected]
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            2 days ago

            Oh yeah he never has that Dunning Kruger setup I see from Junior people on the team. He knows (or finds out) who to ask and when, and always admits when he doesn’t know something. All super important qualities that some people learn earlier rather than later in probably every industry

    • @[email protected]
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      193 days ago

      Honestly, speaking as somebody with two different masters degrees, it’s a good idea to not assume they know anything WITHIN their degree field too, until they prove otherwise.

    • @[email protected]
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      73 days ago

      Famous physicist and misogynist “Surely you’re Joking” Mr. Feynman comes to mind. Didn’t even know you can’t have both lemon and milk in you tea.

    • @[email protected]
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      3 days ago

      Being “smart” and “thinking” are two very different things. You can be very smart but have no conscious thought. You can be a great thinker without ANY formal education or experience. (Calm down internet geniuses, you’re not that special.)

      We might start figuring out how to get either one if we start understanding that there’s a difference.

      Your brain doesn’t work the way you think it does. Your mind isn’t entirely your own. Your language influences your internal dialogue, and if you have no internal dialogue, you need to exercise that by reading a lot more and thinking about your thinking.