Randall Twede
But I Want To Use My Whole Brain!
Decisions, decisions: left-brain or right? Consider the following excerpts of code I have written. The first is Java:
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
label = ((Button)e.getSource()).getLabel();
if(label.equals("Go")) {
displayAnswer();
}
else if(label.equals("Next")) {
displayQuiz();
}
else if(label.equals("Quit")) {
quit();
}
else {
try {
loadQuiz(label);
}
catch(IOException ex) {
System.out.println("Cannot load question bank");
}
}
}
The second is HTML:
<html>
<head>
<title>Quiz</title>
</head>
<body background="stars.gif">
<center>
<font color="white">
<b>
There arent many questions yet. I will add more soon.
<p><applet code="Quiz.class" width="350" height="200"></applet>
<p>Sorry, the applet will only update your balance
<br>
if you are using Internet Explorer.
<br>
It should be corrected soon. JavaGuy
</b>
</font>
</center>
</body>
</html>
To the untrained eye, they look pretty similar don't they? I mean, you would think that writing each was a very similar activity. In actuality, they are very different activities. The first involves the left-brain; the second, however, is a right-brain activity. It will be easier for you to understand if I explain what each does.
The Java code is from a quiz applet that I wrote for a web-site I developed. Upon close examination, you will see that it checks to see which button the user clicked on, and then it takes the appropriate action. It is very logical. It solves a problem, definitely a left-brain activity.
The HTML code is the code that displays the web page the applet is on. As you can see, it sets the background to an image of stars, sets the font color to white, centers the text and the applet, and sets the size of the applet area. It is all about the appearance of the page, a right-brain activity.
Stephen Covey put it so well in his book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", that I am going to quote him here. "Essentially, the left hemisphere is the more logical/verbal one and the right hemisphere the more intuitive, creative one. The left deals with words, the right with pictures; the left with parts and specifics, the right with wholes and the relationship between the parts. The left deals with analysis, which means to break apart; the right with synthesis, which means to put together. The left deals with sequential thinking; the right with simultaneous and holistic thinking."
Which brings us back to my dilemma. I enjoy both of these activities. They both involve being creative, and both are rewarding in their own way. In the "real" world, however, it is seldom the case that one gets to do both. There doesn't seem to be any room for a "Renaissance man" in Corporate America. We are forced to specialize in narrow areas of knowledge and skill.
In commercial website development, one person or group creates the database; another person or group creates the business logic; and yet another creates the presentation. This is also the way that computer games are written. The Artists create the art; the designers create the design; and the programmers write the code. The programming task is even broken up into sections: one programmer writes the code that saves the game; another writes the code that loads a saved game. It is understandable that they do it this way. Creating a modern computer game is a Herculean task. It would take one person years, perhaps decades to accomplish, and by the time he was done the game would seem as pathetic as the tile-based games of yesteryear seem to us today.
The problem this poses for me is that I don't want to spend all of my time engaged in left-brain activities. Although creating an elegant algorithm is rewarding, it can't replace the satisfaction derived from right-brain activities. On the other hand, I wouldn’t want to give up the challenge of left-brain problem solving.
I see three possible solutions to this dilemma. The first is to do one for a living and the other as a hobby. Not the ideal solution, but definitely worth considering. It is also possible that I could start out as a "mere" programmer, and eventually get promoted to project leader. It seems to me that such a position would be more rewarding. Not only financially, but personally as well. The last solution is much riskier, but not without precedent. I could start my own company. I could become an entrepreneur: a freelancer, or perhaps even an employer. Having previous experience running a successful, if not lucrative, TV repair shop would probably improve my chances of success.
