F# is so Passé

Lately I've been trying to juggle learning a mix of technology. WPF, .net 3.5 (linq), maths, F#... Sometimes I feel like I have Internet Multitasking Syndrome.

Although Internet Multitasking Syndrome is not a known medical disorder (I just made it up five minutes ago), it is not uncommon for people to become so immersed in their online activities that their cognitive abilities wane.

After hours starring at a screen, flipping between web pages and information outlets, people can develop a feeling of anxiety, stress and a decrease in mental performance, said John Suler, author of The Psychology of Cyberspace.

"There are limits to how much information one person can process," he continued.

I started learning about a little known language called F# a couple of months ago, where I read most of the Foundations of F# book over a rather intense week.

Since then I've dropped the ball... there's just too much to learn within our software field.

I'm keen to get back into it, as F#'s functional principles are very appealing to me. There's a sense of power and elitism playing with such a language. It's close to it's mathematical roots, and has the potential to create highly concurrent systems.

These things are addictive for software engineers. Power and elitism - it's why C/C++ are so popular and why VB programmers get no respect.


Now that F# is an official MS language, it's becoming quite popular. While this is fantastic for the language - a small selfish part of me wants to keep it for myself. I don't want it to become 'common' and spoilt by countless bad programmers writing spaghetti code.

Unfortunately this also includes me - so to avoid becoming an Italian Chef, I'm planning to read Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs during my holidays. I've heard this is a classic book covering functional programming (in scheme).

Wish me luck!

Death Trap

When I first started riding my motorbike I became much more aware of my environment... and not in a pleasant way. After coming out of my metal cocoon (car), everything became a threat and I felt fully exposed to the world.

It's with good reason too; I live in beautiful Queensland where every week 1 rider dies and 15 are injured. And I don't need a maths degree to know that the statistics are against me.

Even still I love riding my bike, it got me out of my comfort zone and I have a new perspective, and a new sense of freedom and opportunity.

So here comes the clichéd analogy to programming.... Our comfort zone is our greatest death trap.

Our industry moves far too quickly learn everything, so it's an easy trap to become stagnant with familiar technology.

We've all been victim's of stagnancy at some point, but tragically some developers spiral down until they feel so far behind there's no point playing catch up.

Then they're stuck working with an obscure, unsupported technology - or they get promoted into management.

Others are trapped by their language of choice. I met a guy just recently who, with great passion, thought 'C' was the language for everything. Web apps, database apps... everything.

I felt for this guy, because I've been there before... and it's utter madness.


It takes effort and it's painful to learn new things. There's also a high risk that what you learn is completely redundant... but while it's important to pick your technology carefully - it's better to learn something than nothing at all.

My challenge is to never stop learning; it's not without risk or effort - but the rewards of freedom and perspective are invaluable.

I don't want to be a Maths Teacher

Before I started my maths degree I braced myself for the inevitable question "why maths?"

That's okay, maths isn't everyones favorite subject - but as it turns out the more popular question is "do you want to be a Maths teacher?"...

No!

Don't get me wrong, I have no problems with teaching, in fact it might be cool to be a lecturer one day... but it makes me sad that people think learning maths is only good for teaching maths.

It's like the definition of Recursion: see Recursion; a tragic cycle of futility; a perpetual motion machine that affects nothing and goes nowhere.

No!

I want to shout out from the roof tops - don't people realize that maths is the basis of all technology and human advancement?

Economically, math brings order to chaos. The steady job, the home (or mortgage), even food on the table and clothes on our backs - thank maths. Too melodramatic? Google the Great Depression sometime.

Math heals us when we are sick. Statistical drug trials determine what medicine works, mathematical models of the human body are used by doctors and physiotherapists to determine better techniques for recovery.

I won't even get started on computers or civil construction.

Above all, maths is eloquent, philosophical and beautiful. It changes your perceptions and makes you appreciate everyday life even more.

</rant>