Often, it is interesting to examine how professionals and experts in their own special fields think, and how the way they think aids them in their specialization. So, today, I just want to explore the minds of programmers–how they think and how that aids them in the process of programming.

Programmers like to think outside the box. When they encounter an issue, they don’t just focus on the problem itself, but they like to dig deeper to identify the source of the problem and possible relations with other working solutions. Justin James explains further on this concept, as he explains, “Too many people fail to look outside of the immediate problem when writing code; they are so focused upon the trees, they do not see the forest,” (“How to Think Like a Programmer: Part 1“). In the brains of programmers, such big thinking is common. They like to analyze an issue as part of something bigger, or more general, that caused the issue in the first place.

To provide a personal testimony to this concept, when I’m writing a program, I have a general picture or idea of how I’m going to write the actual program. So I create the basic structure and design of the program first, before implementing each part of the program. Basically, I form the backbone of the code first and then go back to fill the bones with meat; and, when I encounter an issue, I like to observe why I wrote the specific line of code with the error in the first place before trying to fix it.

The more obvious mindset found in programmers is that they are logical and resourceful thinkers. Justin explains further on this concept, concluding how great programmers come from a background of physics, mathematics, or “other similar scientific fields.” In context, programmers would use their physics and mathematics backgrounds to instruct the computer to construct data, equations, and other useful tasks needed for certain programs.

Overall, programmers are the problem-solving maniacs who think outside the box and use what they are given to complete a task logically. As boring as they sound, programmers are proven to handle situations very effectively with much thinking. So, find yourself a programmer and let them solve all your problems!

If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will respond as soon as possible. Thank you for reading!