The Static Page

What Does It Take?

I had a curious exchange with someone the other day. It was about what sort of person I am and what sort of person becomes a "name" in the Linux or Internet community. You see, he'd met some of them and discovered how painful it was to be in the same room as them. They tend to be obsessed with their work or project and have poor communication skills almost as a result.

You can probably guess that I'm not like that. I'm a complex fellow and I need a variety of mental stimulation. Boring drudge-work is not me. It's also hard for me to obsess about something. I get bored with an obsession after a while.

Now neither of those points would universally apply one way or the other to known names. I rather doubt Linus Torvalds currently has problems communicating, nor the likes of Eric Raymond for that matter. But I can believe it about some of the lesser names. Computer geeks and nerds are almost legendary in their lack of social skills.

It did set me thinking, though. Firstly, does anyone here know any of the "names" in the Linux or Internet communities? I've had brief email exchanges with Alan Cox, for instance, but that doesn't mean I know him any better than anyone else who reads his web-diary entries. I'm more likely to personally know Andrew Tridgell, since we're on the same continent, but again fate hasn't made that happen.

It also re-inforced to me that various aspects of the computer industry requires a certain type of personality. For example, I like to leave work at work so I can pursue other entertainments. This doesn't go down well with some employers, for some strange reason :-). Of course, I'm not applying to those sort of jobs. However, some types of IT work will require this. So I'm ruling myself out of them by virtue of a personality quirk.

So what personality quirks of yours have limited your choice of career? And which are a barrier to you achieving what you thought you really wanted to do? And are you content to let them stay a barrier? Or are you trying to prove to yourself you really can do what you want to do?

Wade Bowmer, aka Static

Comments? Email me at static dash page at yceran dot org.