HN Explorer

18 comments

[ 3.4 ms ] story [ 44.2 ms ] thread
pw0ncakes
My interpretation: the submission of this article is a subtle protest of the site's lack of support for downvoting submissions.
RyanMcGreal
Interviewer: How would you describe yourself?

Candidate: I'm a code ninja!

Interviewer: Thank you for your time. We'll, er, be in touch.

pw0ncakes
It's fine and good to be a bit quirky, but once you start referring to your resume as a "character sheet", you need to step back for a second.
stcredzero
That sort of shenanigans almost got a friend of mine hired at a shop -- until she revealed that she wasn't a coder and was applying for a clerical/support position.
og1
I cant stand this rockstar/ninja nomenclature. It makes me cringe.
lanaer
Rockstars are loud & noisy, maybe they get stuff done. Frequently care more about what people think about them then the quality of their work.

Ninjas do the job, and nobody knows until it’s too late.

I'm not seeing desirable qualities here for coders.

pw0ncakes
Modern ninjas do most of their work in no-harm kidnappings due to Japan's idiosyncratic (no reciprocity) and somewhat xenophobic custody laws. If your spouse is ethnic Japanese and flees to Japan with your child, and you have legal custody but live elsewhere, Japan won't surrender the child.
lanaer
That applies to other places in Asia and the middle east (go arabic ninja, I guess?)
pw0ncakes
I'm sure the lower-ranking Saudi princes could use something to do.
jimfl
Yeah. These are definitely stopwords when reading job postings. Luckily, they're generally applied at the top or even in the title.

If you advertise for Ninjas or Rockstars, you deserve every candidate you get.

pw0ncakes
<obvious>They should replace "rockstar", "hero", and "ninja" with "douchebag"; it's just as unprofessional, but more accurately describes the people who'd describe themselves with any of those labels.</obvious>
mhd
Reclusive assassins aren't that much better than asketic mystics ("Zen coders", "Perl monks").

Can't I just be a Code Casanova? A Procedural Pimp? A Googlin' Gigolo?

But I shall diminish, go into the office, and remain a programmer.

pw0ncakes
A Java jouster

lances hazards far and 'yond

with cruft but correct.

xiaoma
Digital Ditch Digger.
balding_n_tired
I like Peter Drucker's theory.

As for Amazon, I have a "Ninja Coder" sticker in view as a type; as relating to martial arts, the question I answered to get it was at about the induction physical level.

edw519
Cute mainstream article that gives the ignorant masses a phony Hollywood view of what it's like to be a programmer.

A real day in the life of a rockstar/ninja/whatever isn't so glamorous:

- Review actual results of Run #27 and compare to expected results. Isolate 4 discrepencies.

- Scour through 1200 lines of code, looking for obvious flaws that would have produced 4 discrepencies.

- Isolate functions and run new test.

- Enter debugger and enable trace checkpoints.

- Realize it's been 6 hours since you farted. Fart.

- Revise test data and run again.

- Modify checkpoints and build fresh logs.

- Add 9 more outliers to test cases.

- Put logs on another session. Find glasses.

- Grab a soda and some chips. Read the source code again.

- Call wife. Have dinner without me.

- Run one more test. Still have discrepencies.

- Realize the expected results were calculated wrong and your program was right all along. You ninja. Log off.