Yes, I'm highly allergic to pair programming as well for a bunch of reasons. Fortunately, I've only rarely encountered it on the job.
I can't seem to code and engage in an ongoing human interaction at the same time. It has to be one or the other. I also really hate having someone looking over my shoulder while I'm typing.
As am I. I guess it is related to having "Sensory Processing Sensitivity", a newer name for "Highly Sensitive Person", which basically means that one thinks deeply about everything all the time, whether they want to or not, and quick context changes (like having that train of thought interrupted frequently in pair programming) is highly disruptive. One TED talk about on youtube said it affects 1/5 people, even among animals, and it can't be changed, and has pros and cons.
> which basically means that one thinks deeply about everything all the time, whether they want to or not, and quick context changes (like having that train of thought interrupted frequently in pair programming) is highly disruptive.
Wow, this is me. A friend once analogized it to being like a light source. I am a laser, deeply penetrating a narrow spot, but leaving the larger field in the dark while I do so. Other people are like a floodlight, illuminating a large area, but not deeply penetrating any particular portion of it.
I always though of being like a laser as a kind of superpower, though, not a pathology.
There are, naturally, advantages and disadvantages to each way of thinking. A good team needs both lasers and floodlights.
I can't seem to code and engage in an ongoing human interaction at the same time. It has to be one or the other. I also really hate having someone looking over my shoulder while I'm typing.