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Ask HN: Why So Irrational

5 points by johnydepp ↗ HN
I am an software engineer in a well known company. In free time I started working on my own IOS applications. Now I have 3 applications in AppStore.

Compared to my salary I get very less income from AppStore. But still I like working on my own Applications and spend a lot of time on them. Half of my brain goes into thinking about these small Apps. I know these apps wont give me comparable income to my salary.

So why I am paranoid about them? I am sure many of HN readers would be having the same story.

This is my interest? or a false hope? Or I don't like my work at my Job?

It would be interesting to know some psychology topics around it.

4 comments

[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 22.2 ms ] thread
andraganescu
It is because you are passion driven. It's normal and you should continue to do it. In my free time I work on abstract software things that bring no money at all and still have half my brain there :)
PaulHoule
I think there is passion about writing code and passion about business, those overlap, and there is also the feeling of autonomy.

I remember stealing some candy from a cupboard and my mom asked me why I stole it instead of asking for it and I told her it tastes better when I steal it.

Making $10 in a job where you are mostly getting paid to deal with other people's mistakes gives much more pleasure than making $1 for yourself.

johnydepp
Yea, I also think its more about 'feeling of autonomy'. It feels more pleasurable to earn less from our own idea than working on regular job
_random_
Teamwork is fun, but in the end of the day you want a proof that you are capable of doing great things on your own. To make things worse, development can be a creative occupation. All game artists have personal pieces in their portfolios.