Why are teen programmers so freaken similar? It seems like you [we] all have the same basic personality. Or maybe not, but it could be an interesting topic for discussion.

Do you mean those at TPU.org, because I can certainly distinguish personality types here, or do you mean in general?

We have all grown up in the same time period. Its a hard question to answer, there is no full answer. We all love games, hate Microsoft, interested in Linux and Open Source.(at least most of us) Maybe its because we have nothing better to do that just sit on our own computer and we need to waste time somehow. We have grown up in a society that uses computers for everything but don't truely understand them and to be different we learn everything we can about them. And we are all wierd, there is not a single person among us that does not have at least a semi-nerdy personality.

welllllll...we're all programers or atleast people who like computers...so i think that people who are into the same stuff tend to have to same personality..which is good cuz people with the same personality seem to get along better...who knows?? maybe i'm just talking out my @$$..oh well..

jay

i think there must be something deeper than that. it cant be a coincidence that we all seem to enjoy the some kind of things: same movies, same humor

Since when? I know of only one other teen programmer who shares anything even remotely like my tastes in music, one who's got the same movie tastes... in fact, I think the only thing we all have in common is the fact that we are different...

AMEN Mycroft..we're all nerds...no offence to anyone..lol..last friday night i reinstalled linux and though it was fun! its great
i hope i didn't offend anyone by calling them a nerd..maybe i'm just talking about my self..oh well...

jay

"in the land of computers the nerd is king"

I think my personality is miles away from everyone elses here...

I will not even lower myself to comment on the hideous stereotype being presented in this thread.

Let me just use the example:
"We all love games, hate Microsoft, interested in Linux and Open Source"
I rarely play games. I don't hate Microsoft, although some of their products do annoy me. I'm not in the least bit interested in the Linux kernel, or the so called "Opensource movement", but GNU and the FSF do interest me (see www.gnu.org or www.fsf.org for the difference).

/me also doesn't like Open Source or Linux

I booted that new-fangled Linux thing the other day, and it sucked. It started ok, but then it said it couldn't find init or sh (as a last resort). The system was completely useless! But when I added the GNU toolchain I was able to login and do stuff like run programs (you kind of new glibc...). Free Software the power of GNU is all I need (in fact, once gnumach 2.0 is released I may switch to the HURD [gnumach 1.3 was just released with support for larger than 1GB disks! woo!]...all I need is large parition support, working shadowfs, pthreads, and sound [all of which except for sound should be there]).

I also don't play any games. I bought a lot of Loki games, I just never really played them. And since I decided to make my machine a 100% Free Software machine, I don't even have them installed anymore. Every now and then I might play a game of bzflag against someone, but that is it.

As for music...I dunno, but I haven't really seen anyone here that likes what I like (think Blind Guardian, Iced Earth, Mirrored Mind, Mithotyn, Falconer, Amon Amarth, Zao, Obituary...). I really don't see any movies either (haven't been the the theater in a longggggg time...although I may be going soon with a real female of the human species).

Apparantly I'm also a zealot/asshole/lamer :)

I would say extramist unknown ;-)

But yeah, i understand what you are all saying. Take a look at http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/Appendix-B.html

It describes the aperrence, intrests and general life of a hacker and sums me up completly (and im sure it descrbes others here well)

Heh, well saying we're all alike is rather silly, atleast from my point of view. Anyone on this board that knows about me and my preferences would agree that I probably differ from most of you people (maybe except for Infryq *chuckle*).

But anyway, other than that, games interests me, though I don't play them often. I primarily use Windows, programming for it, as there's more money in that sector, therefore I don't hate MS, though I disagree with the direction they're heading in regards to interfaces.

As to OpenSource.. Well I like it, but think it's *highly* overrated, and overused these days. Some projects can benefit from OpenSource, or actually, lots can, but not all.. An example would be projects I do at work. I can't release about half of the code, seeing it's part of work, and can't risk having anyone stealing it.. (Sounds stupid, but it's how things are)

I'm not limited to a stereotype. I got something of the nerd-stereotype, but not much. I like hightech in general, got plenty of experience with computers (my wrists surely prove that). I'm more working with hardware than software at the moment (the smell of fresh Fe3Cl in the morning).
I do like to play games. I have periods of months in which I don't play any game then a few days when I spend whole days playing.

My personality isn't exactly stereotypical.

RedX

/me isn't an extremist...honest! ;)

As for Open Source being useful--it isn't. Open Source needs to die, NOW. It is just crappy Free Software, just like the Capitalist Libertarians are merely crappy anarchists. Open Source only harms the Free Software movement. In the long run it will only help proprietary software continue to exist. Free Software is the solution...Open Source is just watered down Free Software (they cut out the morals). You use Free Software because you belive in Freedom. I believe in Freedom, how about you? My system runs only Free Software, and I hope others follow...[bah bah, yeah I go quite far but not too far]

You are all saying your personality is different, well how do you know? Why don't you post something you think makes you different from the rest of us. Maybe we'll see just how different or a like we are.

For me: I Love Macs and 80's music.

I'm interested in what will turn up if any one cares to respond to this post.

Unknown, Open source is not crap. From a business point of view (selling software) there is no chance you can get them to create free software, releacing the source code and giving it away free. Its not practical. Open source gives the source away but not the product. This gives a happy medium that good for both buyers and sellers. I have a linux system, but its not debian (although i may try it someday), its mandrake. but soon i'll be changing to SuSe. Both are commercial. Why buy them? becasue i believe in the product and i want to support it.

Commercial software != proprietary software

GNU ADA is a commercial product--you can buy it for money. Just because something is commercial doesn't mean it is proprietary. Commercial software is great and I think that there should be some more Free commercial software. I'm actually surprised that someone hasn't bundled the GIMP with a printed copy of GUM (Gimp User's Manual) and sold it for 50 or 60 bucks at walmart (selling to the people who buy PSP). In the long run, Open Source is to Free Software as Capitalist Libertarianism is to Anarchy--bad.

Open Source ditches the morals and political views associated with Free Software, as Capitalist Liberatarianism does to Anarchy. This dilutes the message of Free Software and hurts the movement.

open source is 'free' software (free speach). I didn't say it was propriotry. There are many good comercial linux distro's. they certainly are not propriotry (its even illegal to make them propriotry) What im saying though is that free software (free beer sence) won't ever (in the forseable future) be commercialised. Simply becasue it can't. The money to continue the development of the software would have to come from somewhere else such as support services and documentaion. but then they need paying as well as the programmers. free software is good. but open source is definatly a step in the right direction. Remember, businesses (the people that buy the most software) don't care about ethics. free software would (and it honstley would) criple the software industy. if everone was expected to give away their source and software for free, their would be now way for programmers to make money. In say 20 or more years, i would like to see free software(not just open) running all computers. I'd like to think that many industries would follow the IT industy in this effect. Producing a 'star trek' like earth where everyone works for the greater of mankind, not just to line thier pockets. However, open source is a step in this direction. We need to get everyone to accept this first before we can go any further.

Unkown... TINSTAFL. Someone is paying for it somewhere and eventually it will get back to you.

Mycroft>
I know because there isn't a stereotype that qualifies to be applied to me. Some characteristics may be right, but never more than half of them.
Explaining my personality isn't easy, what I do know is, that with some pressure I can do very impressive stuff, but getting started is the problem.
oh, and I am cursed with the only-want-to-be-friends thing and seem to attract the weird girls.

RedX

Yes. I am a person with a personality...and if we share common traits in our thoughts, interests and actions, how does that show that we have similar personalities?

I don't think it does. Different personalities can come to simular thoughts. If we can see a "personality" as the sum of all previous experiences and the little influence DNA has, then there isn't realy something as simular personalities. Because no 2 persons can have the same experiences, and the differences in the early experiences influence the effects of the later experiences, so the differences become bigger every time. So everybody's personality is unique. (like trying to trow a 1000 marbles on the floor and trying to get the exact same pattern 2 times in a row. While this is theoretical possible, it is impossible to do in real life, even without misinterpretting the laws of quantum mechanics)

RedX

In general, stereotypes apply. In specific, stereotypes are useless.

RedX and I have something in common; we both attract weird people of the opposite sex. Haven't a clue why. I like games, but I don't play them, usually because web design or music is more interesting. I listen to 80s, opera, soft punk/emo, and french pop.

I think a big thing that we all hold in common is curiosity and self-discipline -- at least when it comes to computers. We're not here because we have to sign up and take part in TPU for a grade or to get our paycheck -- it's something we're genuinely interested in, and it takes work to be able to build programming skills without having to be babied all the way. Whether or not we agree on the major topics of the moment in the computing world, I think curiosity is a big enough thing to share that our individual opinions don't matter so much in being able to interact with eachother. Even to the point of seeming similar, even though when it comes down to it we are extremely different.

I think the majority of that is actually not BS, either, though I did just finish an overdue english project, so forgive me if it's drivel...