Programming and poetry are like two sides of the same
coin. They are inherently very different, with programming being very heavily
related to math and poetry being an expressive form of literature. However,
they both share numerous similarities whilst being completely different
subjects, which can make poetry helpful for programmers.
The
importance of structure in poetry could be one thing that can help programmers
write their code. They both are similar in the way that they break themselves
up into blocks or stanzas. While not necessary in either, breaking the text up
can make it easier to read or add more meaning in the case of poetry. The
importance that poetry places on intricacies of things like grammar can also
help coders with various things. With how much the meaning of poetry can change
just by a piece of punctuation, it ends up being very similar to code, as one
missed semicolon or bracket could end up messing up the entire program. If a programmer were to read poetry and pick up on similarities like these, they could use the likeness to write their code in a more efficient and attractive way.
There
is also the individual creativity of both, with no two people writing the same poem
or code. Even if tasked to make the same final product, the odds of different programmers
writing identical code are extremely low, since there are often many ways to do
any task. The different approach of a coding solution often reflects on the way that
a programmer thinks, which is similar the poetry. When reading poetry, you can often
get insight into the speaker’s personality and thought process which can affect
the way you interpret a poem. Being able to read the style of a writer in poetry
can also be applied to reading another person’s code, since understanding the writer’s
thought process can help you read their code more efficiently.
There
are many more reasons that I think reading poetry can be useful for programmers,
but these are some of the ones that I think stand out the most.
Posted by Christopher.
I think you make some good points here, especially the one about code and poetry being original and individual to the author. That's definitely true of poetry, and from what I've learned about coding, you can do the same thing in hundreds of different ways, like you said. Poetry may also help programmers to be more efficient with their code - in poetry often less is more and it seems to be true with code as well.
ReplyDeleteAll of these are true and good comparisons, both are also elegant ways of writing literature/websites. They break down the point in the simplest method possible and everything in poetry and code is essential to the understanding of the poem or the function of the code.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really good post, I would have never thought about the similarities between the two! I typically see differences in things I suppose... thanks for the employment. Have you ever thought of coding something that writes poems?
ReplyDeleteYou draw some excellent comparisons between aspects of writing poetry and writing code, Christopher. I particularly like your observations about "how much the meaning of poetry can change just by a piece of punctuation," and how in that way "it ends up being very similar to code," and also that no two people will write the same poem or code, even if given a very similar set of guidelines or task. Nice solution!
ReplyDeleteI never really thought of programming as something so creative, but your blog gave me a new perspective on that. The part where you mentioned that a coding solution can be approached in several different ways just as poetry can particularly resonated with me. I think the idea that poetry can be used to fulfill a goal is something that I often overlook. For two people to write with the same purpose and not get the same poem is inspiring personally because it shows how valuable each and every perspective is.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw this as one of the poetry problems prompts, I was immediately like okay no way I'm doing that one I have no idea, so I'm impressed with how well you were able to pull this off. You bring up some really interesting and valid points-- I really like the one you made about structure, I think it lines up with both poetry and programming very well. Good job!
ReplyDelete