QuoteProject
... programming requires more concentration than other activities. It's the reason programmers get upset about 'quick interruptions' - such interruptions are tantamount to asking a juggler to keep three balls in the air and hold your groceries at the same time.
Steve Mcconnell
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Programming demands deep focus, and interruptions can disrupt that concentration significantly.

In this quote, Steve McConnell emphasizes the importance of sustained concentration in programming work. He compares programming to juggling, illustrating how even small interruptions can destabilize a programmer's flow and productivity, similar to how a juggler would struggle if asked to manage additional tasks while maintaining their act.

Themes

ProgrammingConcentrationDistractionsProductivityFocus

In practice

Example use cases

During a team meeting, to emphasize the need for an uninterrupted work period for developers.

More from Steve Mcconnell

There are no secrets on an successful software project. Both good and bad news must be able to move up and down the ptoject hierarchy without restriction.
Steve McconnellRead
Good code is its own best documentation. As you're about to add a comment, ask yourself, "How can I improve the code so that this comment isn't needed?" Improve the code and then document it to make it even clearer.
Steve McconnellRead

Similar quotes

More and more we are into communications; and less and less into communication.
Studs TerkelRead
Open platforms encourage innovation. Whenever you have a closed platform, a monopoly on commerce, and all these platform rules, it stifles innovation.
Tim SweeneyRead
The only people with power today are the audience. And that is increasing with Twitter, Facebook, and everything else. We cater to their likes and dislikes, and you ignore that at your peril.
Simon CowellRead
Technology is seductive when what it offers meets our human vulnerabilities. And as it turns out, we are very vulnerable indeed. We are lonely but fearful of intimacy. Digital connections and the sociable robot may offer the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship. Our networked life allows us to hide from each other, even as we are tethered to each other. We’d rather text than talk.
Sherry TurkleRead
The key questions will be: Are you good at working with intelligent machines or not? Are your skills a complement to the skills of the computer, or is the computer doing better without you? Worst of all, are you competing against the computer?
Tyler CowenRead
We shape our tools and afterwards our tools shape us.
Marshall McluhanRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Steve Mcconnell | QuoteProject