I was talking with a friend last night who is a wonderful artist. As he shared what it meant to lead the life of an artist, I found myself filled with a bit of longing. I have a somewhat romantic, artistic side to myself, but here I am as a career programmer.
Then I thought about it some more, and began sharing with him that actually, building software is a very creative act for me. He asked in what way. I said that I love that feeling of letting a design reveal itself to me. I said that the use cases and tests that I put *around* a system are like the negative space that define the system. As I add more test cases and refine the design, a form starts taking shape. That experience of revelation, and of uncovering the elegance in the raw marble that is the initial design, is incredibly satisfying.
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