I can solve programming problems OR carry on a conversation. I cannot do both at the same time.
It isn't just coding. The same quirk shows up in other ways. For example, I also cannot carry on a conversation and navigate. I can drive safely while conversing, but I cannot navigate. When my daughter was a teenager she exploited this quirk for laughs: get in the car with Dad; start for destination; bring up interesting topic; wait to see what random place we end up going; profit!
I can explain my thinking after the fact. I just can't do the thinking while conversing.
I've been working as a consultant for a while now. Communication is a big part of the job. My current client is one that has come back repeatedly, and that pretty much lets me set the terms I want, and gives me broad discretion to decide how things are to be done. I presume that means they're happy with the results so far and want more of the same.
I do have to communicate effectively in that job. I collaborate with a VP to set directions, vet R&D proposals, choose implementation strategies, pick tools, guide other contributors, and so on. So I have to be able to communicate effectively.
I also write the majority of working code in the current set of projects we're working on.
What I don't have to do is write code while carrying on conversations. It's a good thing I don't have to do that, because I can't.
I can pair program, as long as my collaborator understands that when I need to really think about a problem, I have to leave the session to do it. I can rejoin once I've figured out what I'm thinking about, and I can explain what I thought of. The collaborators I'm working with now are used to it by now, and it's a normal part of our collaborative cadence.
I can hunt bugs in a pair session, similar to the way that I can drive just fine while conversing; I just can't navigate, or do involved creative problem solving. I'm not exactly sure what the difference is; just that there's a certain kind of thinking I need to do that gets blocked by conversation.
"I'm trying to think, but nothing happens."
I'm useless in tech-interview coding, so I just don't do it anymore. I've told several companies that wanted me to go through their coding interviews that they should just give me the lowest possible score on that part of the interview, and if they still wanted to talk to me about the job, I'd be happy to talk to them. Nobody has taken me up on that specific proposal, but I have gotten nice offers a couple of times after I thoroughly bombed coding interviews. Those experiences made me question how seriously those companies took their own processes.
I can solve programming problems OR carry on a conversation. I cannot do both at the same time.
It isn't just coding. The same quirk shows up in other ways. For example, I also cannot carry on a conversation and navigate. I can drive safely while conversing, but I cannot navigate. When my daughter was a teenager she exploited this quirk for laughs: get in the car with Dad; start for destination; bring up interesting topic; wait to see what random place we end up going; profit!
I can explain my thinking after the fact. I just can't do the thinking while conversing.
I've been working as a consultant for a while now. Communication is a big part of the job. My current client is one that has come back repeatedly, and that pretty much lets me set the terms I want, and gives me broad discretion to decide how things are to be done. I presume that means they're happy with the results so far and want more of the same.
I do have to communicate effectively in that job. I collaborate with a VP to set directions, vet R&D proposals, choose implementation strategies, pick tools, guide other contributors, and so on. So I have to be able to communicate effectively.
I also write the majority of working code in the current set of projects we're working on.
What I don't have to do is write code while carrying on conversations. It's a good thing I don't have to do that, because I can't.
I can pair program, as long as my collaborator understands that when I need to really think about a problem, I have to leave the session to do it. I can rejoin once I've figured out what I'm thinking about, and I can explain what I thought of. The collaborators I'm working with now are used to it by now, and it's a normal part of our collaborative cadence.
I can hunt bugs in a pair session, similar to the way that I can drive just fine while conversing; I just can't navigate, or do involved creative problem solving. I'm not exactly sure what the difference is; just that there's a certain kind of thinking I need to do that gets blocked by conversation.
"I'm trying to think, but nothing happens."
I'm useless in tech-interview coding, so I just don't do it anymore. I've told several companies that wanted me to go through their coding interviews that they should just give me the lowest possible score on that part of the interview, and if they still wanted to talk to me about the job, I'd be happy to talk to them. Nobody has taken me up on that specific proposal, but I have gotten nice offers a couple of times after I thoroughly bombed coding interviews. Those experiences made me question how seriously those companies took their own processes.