
Ask HN: Are all developers sith by nature? - dmitripopov
May the 4th be with you, my friends!
We, developers, are creative individuals. My 20+ years experince says that one can not be a developer without being at least a little creative. But being creative is all about passion. And passion is the center of sith philosophy. So, we all are sith by nature? Even if we do not strive for power, we employ the dark side all the way.
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itamarst
Lots of developers aren't "passionate", at least about software development.
([https://codewithoutrules.com/2016/11/30/not-a-passionate-
pro...](https://codewithoutrules.com/2016/11/30/not-a-passionate-programmer/))

And there's a good argument to be made that you _shouldn 't_ be passionate
about software development: [http://www.virtuouscode.com/2014/02/10/the-
passion-gospel/](http://www.virtuouscode.com/2014/02/10/the-passion-gospel/)

Creativity is not "all about passion". It's a skill you can apply with or
without passion.

~~~
dmitripopov
Creativity without passion is just making. You put pieces together, add some
glue, and it just works. Being creative means to be able to find untrivial
solutions.

~~~
itamarst
What does finding untrivial solutions have to do with passion?

~~~
dmitripopov
Take two programmeers, a passionate one and non-passionate about his job and
give them the same complex task that can not be solved without invention. I
did this experiment a dozen of times over my subordinates and non-passionate
ones always fail. 100%. So I do not hire people that just do their job any
more.

~~~
itamarst
There's a difference between caring about your job and being passionate. I
recommend reading Avdi Grimm's [http://www.virtuouscode.com/2014/02/10/the-
passion-gospel/](http://www.virtuouscode.com/2014/02/10/the-passion-gospel/),
it's really good.

~~~
dmitripopov
All of them did care about their job equally. To care - is to do your best, to
be passionate is to do more than you can.

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kluck
Passion to me is when you come back to some activity weither you plan to or
not, e.g. you think about a programming problem out of the blue while in the
shower or walking the dog. The things you are passionate about are always
there in the back of your mind, presenting themselves when they wish. So
passion is an attitude or state of mind regarding an activity.

Creativity on the other hand is when you come up in an idea or a solution to a
problem. When you let out the stream of thoughts regarding a given topic,
unfiltered by rational thinking. So creativity is the process of getting rid
of your prejudices and looking a topic from different angles.

I guess they are both very different kind of concepts.

Creativity can be a passion, see artists, musicians. But also the most un-
creative activity, e.g. sorting stamps, can be a passion.

