Thread: suicide via c++ (way off topic)

  1. #1
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    suicide via c++ (way off topic)

    have you ever tried to solve a problem
    and what you do is draw out some abstract model of its behavior
    define all the necessary components
    and write their relationships as simple mathematical expressions
    which makes you feel confident for feeling like
    you're on the correct track.

    then when you start programming it,
    you notice all these details you didn't
    foresee on paper and then have to spend time
    solving all these 'obscure glitches' which usually
    are a product of the language itself and poor rounding
    or something along the lines of that.

    finally you have this complex framework of logic
    enacting this simple mathematical model which you've
    explored on paper

    only to realize after weeks or so later of working

    that instead you could have substituted the entire
    shibang with some simple and cleverly placed
    multiplication and masking. not only it being simpler
    but also covers all those bugs which here inherent
    in the design of the complex method.


    *smashes keyboard against the wall*

    i freaking quit.

    i'll be back suffering more migraines after i get curious about something else
    and repeat the entire process all over again.



    tell me, and be honest, when you're exploring ideas,
    do you ever get it the first try?
    or is this crap i go through EVERY TIME normal?


    i really hope i'm not as stupid as i'm beginning to think i am.

    i'm not sure if i'm a stupid person trying too hard and i should just save myself
    the pain and suffering and do something else.


    at least i can finally stop working on what i finished.
    anther break from OCD. however short lived it may be.
    Last edited by simpleid; 11-05-2007 at 02:21 PM.

  2. #2
    Registered User hk_mp5kpdw's Avatar
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    No... diagrams/planning/modeling are for wusses
    "Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are god. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are gods."
    -Christopher Hitchens

  3. #3
    Fear the Reaper...
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    The design process is meant to reduce, not eliminate, errors. So I'd imagine everyone has gone through what you are.
    Teacher: "You connect with Internet Explorer, but what is your browser? You know, Yahoo, Webcrawler...?" It's great to see the educational system moving in the right direction

  4. #4

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    thats the worst poem I've ever read.
    I'm not immature, I'm refined in the opposite direction.

  5. #5
    S Sang-drax's Avatar
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    Why do you become angry when you come up with a simple solution? You should be happy.

    PS. Off topic in GD?
    Last edited by Sang-drax : Tomorrow at 02:21 AM. Reason: Time travelling

  6. #6

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    a more serious response to the OP, I don't really believe that anyone 'gets it' the first time through, but that's a pretty broad statement, some people are a lot better at developing and then modeling mathematical models.

    Regardless, thinking of yourself as stupid or somehow a bad person in the event that you may not be good at this task doesn't make you a bad person...that's just an irrational attitude. Think of it like developing a mathematical model, the relationship between your stupidity, much less your worth as a person, isn't connected to your ability to perform this particular task.

    And, you likely won't be willing to tolerate the frustrations involved with developing the skills for the task (programming, mathematical modeling) if you continue with your irrational thinking. Oh, and thinking in an irrational manner also doesn't make you a bad person.

    I harp on the 'irrational' stuff because I think that's a bigger obstacle for many people (likely most) than actually learning how to program. At least in my case.

    Prelude, a very good programmer on this forum, has a signature that reads (or read) 'my best code was written with the delete key.' At least, I think it was prelude.
    I'm not immature, I'm refined in the opposite direction.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by hk_mp5kpdw View Post
    No... diagrams/planning/modeling are for wusses
    mp5s are for wusses.
    I'm not immature, I'm refined in the opposite direction.

  8. #8
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    it wasn't a poem bob;

    i was just expressing frustration with my genetically inferior mind.
    lame.

    so much competition out there in specific areas like research.
    Last edited by simpleid; 11-06-2007 at 11:57 AM.

  9. #9
    Frequently Quite Prolix dwks's Avatar
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    Actually, it sounds a lot more poetic than some "poems" I've read . . .

    Recently I was trying to figure out how to calculate where two vectors would intersect. Basically, you have a target travelling at a known velocity, direction, and position; and you have another object with a known position and velocity -- and you have to calculate the angle this object should move at so that the two objects will collide.

    I spent so much time trying to figure this out. I won't tell you how long. And then, after a few weeks, I finally figured out a simple way to do it: the law of sines. In the end, it simplifies to
    Code:
    sin(a) = a*sin(B)/b
    which is so much simpler than what I was thinking of . . . why didn't I think of this before? . . .

    I still haven't solved the problem for accelerating particles. I don't really feel like it.

    Prelude, a very good programmer on this forum, has a signature that reads (or read) 'my best code was written with the delete key.' At least, I think it was prelude.
    Yup, it was.
    dwk

    Seek and ye shall find. quaere et invenies.

    "Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it." -- Alan Perlis
    "Testing can only prove the presence of bugs, not their absence." -- Edsger Dijkstra
    "The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing." -- John Powell


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  10. #10
    Registered User Welder's Avatar
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    Sounds like the story of my and every other programmer's life.

    The only thing you did wrong was continue to be frustrated after the problem was solved especially since the solved problem ended up being a nice tight line or two of code instead of an elaborate, possibly slow algorithm.

    Good and bad programmers alike will get frustrated and stuck. The difference between a good programmer and a bad programmer is the bad programmer spends too much time dwelling on old frustration and can't focus on the next problem, the good programmer moves on and forgets it ever happened and can dedicate all of his mind to the problem at hand.

    I personally use the excitement of solving a problem as motivation for the next one. But that's just me.

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