Naked coding
I was thinking about whether to write this post or not, but here it is. I have a confession to make: I have coded naked. No, not at work or amongst other people, so don’t worry… 
If you’re a web developer and accustomed to coding, you know that sometimes your mind is just twirling with what you’re working on. You might be in the middle of a problem, and your thoughts kind of go on autopilot, trying to solve your latest challenge.
For me, this becomes even more evident when I code something at home just before I go to bed. I might stumble upon some problem that I can’t solve and I, occasionally and for probably fairly sane reasons, choose to get some sleep instead of solving it. But when I lie in my bed, the mind starts to wander and sometimes I suddenly have a Eureka moment.
And then, I just have to run downstairs, naked, to the computer and test if my idea works. I just open the lid to my laptop and do a basic test of the solution I thought of works in practice. But as we all know, web developing is seldom black and white. It’s more like:
It works… I think. Sort of.
And I just sit there and continue to code, and after a couple of hours, I have a realization that it has gotten pretty cold. And there I am again: naked. In the kitchen. Coding. Then I either stop and go back to bed, or I get some clothes and carry on with my struggles…
Luckily, this hasn’t happen in some time now, but for anyone using ASK or AJAX-S, bear in mind that some of the core functionally was coded while I was naked…
35 Comments/Reactions
October 27th, 2006 at 9:57
Great. Now Oxton might do a follow-up post, with pictures.
I’ll just tear my eyes out now.
THANKS, ROBERT. GRR.
October 27th, 2006 at 10:00
I hope that you turn off the lights in the kitchen, so your neighbors don’t get the wrong idea of you….
Living in an apartment has some benefits sometimes. When I get the “naked-coding” urge, I can just go up, place my naked behind in front of the Matrix and code away… Or so I thought until just a couple of days ago when I remembered that come fall, the leaves on the trees fall down letting my neighbors get a widescreen view over my apartment…
October 27th, 2006 at 10:35
Hehehe, glad its not just me. It often happens to me after I’ve had a bath… I’ll need to cool off, but I’ll have all these ideas in my head that I have to implement immediately, or I’ll forget them. Then as you say, time ticks by, and the next thing I know my girlfriend is walking in the door to find ‘the naked coder’
It can take some explaining… I was NOT looking at p0rn !!!
October 27th, 2006 at 10:41
No, no, and no, Robert. I can honestly say that has not ever happend to me.
Absolutely love your description of web development. It’s spot on
October 27th, 2006 at 10:42
You people are starting to worry me
October 27th, 2006 at 10:43
Too much iiiinformation.
) not to use ASK or AJAX-S.
Haha. I guess I’m lucky (?
October 27th, 2006 at 11:10
LOL
October 27th, 2006 at 11:18
Too funny, I’ve coded naked too but never thought about sharing that information… until now!
Whilst coding naked, I realised a different kind of object orientation can be very important: when sitting down after grabbing a cup of coffee, I nearly gave myself a trapped variable
October 27th, 2006 at 12:27
Well, …as long as you don’t have your webcam turned on
October 27th, 2006 at 12:56
Ah, let’s all join the Exhibitionist Geeks Guild tm :p
And yes, when having a sudden hit of inspiration, clothing is not the first thing that pops to mind.
October 27th, 2006 at 13:11
October 27th, 2006 at 14:24
I’ve been there. its usually when im in the shower, ill get bored/frustrated with what im doing, go for a shower and realize waht ive been doing wrong. Ill jump out grab a towel and head for my pc. Sitting on a wet towel isnt very comfy, so i just chuck it on the floor…
Ill stop there
October 27th, 2006 at 17:10
“What can I say, semantic code turns me on!”
October 27th, 2006 at 19:53
<sarcasm>Well, thanks Robert! That’s just the mental image I wanted when reading your blog.</sarcasm>
October 27th, 2006 at 22:18
Ah, thanks everyone! I knew I wasn’t the only one!
October 28th, 2006 at 0:36
ROFLMAO
It happens, but only during summer. During the rest of the year I write code in a sleeping bag, nekkid…
October 28th, 2006 at 0:38
Hmmm… Why can we only see the time of the comments WE post but not the time of YOUR blog posts???
October 28th, 2006 at 0:40
ANCA = Anonymous Naked Coders Association
(Sorry for spamming your blog, Robert, should be in bed by now…)
October 28th, 2006 at 9:14
Naked Programming? Sounds interesting! I’ll try it out!
October 28th, 2006 at 10:37
* Wake up
* Take a shower
* Turn on computer
* Have a shave
* Work for three hours
Now, what did I forget? Oh! “Get dressed!”…
Happens all too often!
October 28th, 2006 at 16:35
hehe, I haven’t actually coded totally naked.. but it’s not uncommon that i sit around in front of my computer in my underwear, or with a towel round my waist, for a few hours.
October 29th, 2006 at 1:37
Been there, done that, still do it.
Thankfully, a laptop has remedied the problem of getting cold as a result of being naked and downstairs at the same time.
October 29th, 2006 at 11:04
Being naked must’ve sound like you like enjoying yourself time to time without intrusions, just you and your trusty warm computer.
Coding and sex apparently does go together, and I think the so-called nerds in the 70s tend to think coding is sex after all!
October 29th, 2006 at 12:21
Naked coding?
“But when I lie in my bed, the mind starts to wander and sometimes I suddenly have a Eureka moment.”
Understand this, but then naked`…
October 29th, 2006 at 13:23
Thanks for sharing, and to know that some of you haven’t taken the final plunge yet. To me, the inpiration is so big that I don’t think about getting dressed or anything else.
Müfit,
Regarding time of comments vs. time of post: I don’t find it relevant what actual minute I wrote the post, just the day. But for comments, I think it’s more interesting exactly when a comment was written.
October 29th, 2006 at 21:42
lol
Me, I surely coded drunk anyway, but I didn’t write any code while naked. (Unless I have been drunk then and cannot remember anymore, that is…
)
October 30th, 2006 at 9:43
Jens,
Ah, don’t get me started about drunk coding…
October 30th, 2006 at 12:43
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October 30th, 2006 at 16:43
I’ve definitely coded naked. I do the same thing as nogg3r5: get frustrated with a problem and go take a shower. Most of my “Eureeka!” moments are in the shower, so I invariably run right to my laptop.
But, how about coding in your sleep? Has anyone done that? I’ve been so wrapped up in a project/problem that I’ve woken up in the morning realizing that I coded the answer in my dream. Then, all I have to do is go type up what’s in my head.
November 3rd, 2006 at 22:25
D:
I do that regularly. I go to sleep thinking about something, then in the morning I wake up with a solution. For some reason it rarely fails.
November 3rd, 2006 at 23:19
D, Ben,
Thanks for sharing. And yes, I’ve also experienced dreaming of a solution.
June 13th, 2007 at 23:19
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September 14th, 2007 at 20:31
[...] Naked Coding Posted in Technology, Fun | Share your thoughts [...]
November 7th, 2008 at 13:58
I have coded naked, recorded music naked, played music naked, painted naked … when the inspiration comes, putting clothes on isn’t actually the first thing that comes to your mind …
November 7th, 2008 at 14:40
Anders,
See, that’s exactly what I’m saying!
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