Susan Harkins
harkinsss at bellsouth.net
Wed Feb 15 13:31:45 CST 2006
Thank you Alan. I don't mean to imply that I'm not "smart enough." I just don't believe that I'm carrying around any superior intelligence or genius. I'm probably above average somewhat, but I don't think it's enough to celebrate. :) There are all kinds of intelligence. I don't memorize code and syntax, I remember where the samples are and I review them as needed. I know Access features well enough that I can usually put them together in ways others don't consider. That's not because I'm so smart, but because I am so familiar with the product. If I tried to remember all the solutions and reasons, I'd explode. That's the difference between me and many developers who just type out stuff that works. It is more efficient for me to review samples and apply them than to try to memorize every rule necessary to create it myself. That doesn't make me smart or dumb. It makes me -- it means I am familiar enough with my own abilities to know what works best for me. Almost everything you have read was inspired by someone else -- I don't just sit around and fire off solutions. Generally, I see snippets and pieces and they inspire something else. But that's my niche Alan -- it's the little spot I've carved out for myself out of necessity. I wouldn't even try to compete with the high-powered developers. That doesn't make me smarter or dumber than them, it makes me different. Although, frankly -- they probably do have a higher IQs than me, and that doesn't bother me. No, I've never taken an IQ test, that I can recall. I don't memorize much at all. I do remember enough to say, "Oh... I need to look that up..." And, I can retain a lot about some subjects with little effort, but I doubt I could write an essay on any subject (except personal) without requiring sources. I think we all remember the ACT's and SAT's from high school? I was a decent student -- in the top 20% -- but not exceptional by any means. When we compared SAT scores, a friend of mine -- one of the top 10 seniors -- was just increduous that my score was higher than hers. In fact, she went so far as to claim they'd made a mistake -- she was truly angry. I was just hurt. A teacher I was fond of later explained to me that my friend had to work very hard for her grades. She studied relentlessly and put 100% into everything she did and here I was -- doing good if I handed in my homework and showed up for class 4 days out of 5, and I scored higher than her. Now, the point of that story is -- if, at the same time, that friend and I had both taken IQ tests -- she's have probably scored higher than me. My success with the SAT's and ACT's was the way they asked questions, not the questions themselves. She memorized things, and she memorized a whole lot. However, what she didn't memorize, she didn't know. I just thought through the questions and gave the answer that seemed the best. I didn't know the answers to most of the questions. I reasoned many answers, I didn't "know" the answers. There are different kinds of brain power, and I doubt either one's better than the other -- but it does make us all very different. People get into trouble when they fail to recognize their weaknesses or fail to take advantage of their strengths. I am not a genius -- no way even near it. I simply know what I'm good at, and that's what I do. Susan H. I have bought, read, (and actually used!) some of the code (and code snippets) in some of your programming books - especially your "Access" programming books. I have always felt that you have a very well organized mind (programming wise) and a special knack for explaining "technical things" very well. (We won't get into your political views ... that's for the OT list.) I'm curious about something. Have you ever taken a standardized IQ test - such as the Stanford-Binet assessment - and if so, what is your IQ? (I took an on-line IQ test recently and scored 127 or 128. The assessment said I was "near genius" and capable of earning a doctoral degree. I laughed at this, thinking it was much more likely that the web site was simply stroking my ego in hopes that I would actually pay for some of their more "intensive and focused" tests ...) It has always struck me that you are much smarter (and "intelligent") than you let on. Alan C. Lawhon -----Original Message----- From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Susan Harkins Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 8:32 AM To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving' Subject: Re: [AccessD] OT: Quote of the day I'm not a technical minded person -- I only make my living this way because it's what presented itself at a time when I needed it. It was means, not a passion by any means. I'd had to overcome a lot, because my mind doesn't translate binary automatically (well, I'm sure it does, but you know what I mean!). But, what I always found challenging and almost inspiring was finding solutions that the "experts" said didn't exist without code, or at least a lot of code. That is my forte and I have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it. :) The second best thing has been taking massive blocks of code and reducing them, by a lot -- I am always astounded by the general lack of care given "logic" in most code. Susan H. "It's my experience that coming up with an elegant solution is deeply satisfying at an entirely different level; it feels closer to art than technology. And elegance always pays off; it's not a frivolous pursuit. Not only does it give you a program that's easier to build and debug, but it's also easier to understand and maintain, and that's where the financial value lies." Thinking in C++, 2nd ed. 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