Programming and Peace of Mind

Robert M. Pirsig quotes in Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: 'Assembly of Japanese bicycle requires great peace of mind.'  One of his theses is that your work reflects your state of mind. Your work won’t have great “quality” if you are hurried. As a programmer, when I’m navigating the technology maze, struggling with tools that are supposed to help, rushing to hit that overly optimistic schedule, “peace of mind” seems rather far away. However, several weeks ago in a training class I took, the instructor told an interesting story. The importance for doctors to wash hands is not discovered until 1847. The practice is not widely adopted for several decades even when there’s clear evidence that the mortality rate is reduced dramatically by such a simple change. One of the resistances the doctors had is that it “wastes too much time”. I’m thinking maybe I could afford a little time stepping back and do some reflecting and contemplating. Maybe a little “peace of mind” can make the work I do have a little bit more “value”.

Keywords: Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Ignaz Semmelweis, Scott Bain