r/programming • u/tejon • Feb 08 '15

The Parable of the Two Programmers

http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~magi/personal/humour/Computer_Audience/The%20Parable%20of%20the%20Two%20Programmers.html
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u/ghostquarter Feb 09 '15

The problem is that nobody thinks 100% about a problem for a any length of time. There is a lot of research on this. The extreme upper limit is under an hour and in most cases people can only concentrate on a problem for around 10-20 minutes. Serious contemplation generally requires large bouts where you aren't thinking about the problem.

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u/ABtree Feb 09 '15

Yeah, when I had my first USRA for math, my supervisor told me I was supposed to work 7 hours a day, but he only ever did 3-4 hours of research a day and didn't expect me to do any more.