Pair programming is draining for most introverts, and there are a lot of introvert programmers.
I love coding, but I'd rather work a McDonalds fryolator than pair for more than an hour at a time. Short bursts--fine. Mentorship--fine. That's not a joke or derision--I'm serious. Past an hour, the fryolater would be preferable.
In general pairing ties up and impairs the part of my brain that does design work, troubleshooting, and problem solving by splitting my focus. The social obligations that come from interacting with another human, like paying attention to what they are doing and saying, and their mental and emotional state, eye contact, my own appearance and affect--all of those distractions are costly. Not to mention pairing destroys the fun part--flow.
I love coding, but I'd rather work a McDonalds fryolator than pair for more than an hour at a time. Short bursts--fine. Mentorship--fine. That's not a joke or derision--I'm serious. Past an hour, the fryolater would be preferable.
In general pairing ties up and impairs the part of my brain that does design work, troubleshooting, and problem solving by splitting my focus. The social obligations that come from interacting with another human, like paying attention to what they are doing and saying, and their mental and emotional state, eye contact, my own appearance and affect--all of those distractions are costly. Not to mention pairing destroys the fun part--flow.