A lighthearted presentation on the psychological phenomenon that makes programming fun: Flow.

1. FLOW
The Psychology of Programming
Erik Ralston
BIS BoF
February 18th, 2010
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2. What is Flow?
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3. What is Flow?
A psychological state of high performance concentration
Often experienced during applied creativity (art, music, programming)
Generally a “happy” or “ecstatic” state for the participant
Identified by Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi
(me-HIGH chick-sent-me-HIGH-ee)
Characterized by absentmindedness
Merging of action and awareness
Narrowing of external perception
Loss of time perception
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4. Who uses flow?
Athletes – Sports psychology is about combining mental and
physical technique to achieve flow.
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5. Who uses flow?
Musicians – Sight-reading and improvisational performance
rely on merged thought and action.
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6. Who uses flow?
Game Designers – Flow provides the positive emotions
associated with game experiences.
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7. Who uses flow?
Martial Artists – Mushin – “No Mind” – Chinese word for zen-
like mental state in combat and practice
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8. What is like FLOW (but not)?
Fascination – The total perception of only a single stimulus
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9. What is like FLOW (but not)?
Highway Hypnosis – The mental state achieved during driving
(or other tasks) releasing the conscious mind from repetition
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10. What is like FLOW (but not)?
Mania – A psychotic state of racing thought
Stems from dysfunction in the brain
Bi-Polar patients “enjoy” mania
Manic individuals often stop taking
drugs in order to return to “the high”
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11. How do I “Use The FLOW”?
To a certain extent, flow is about overwhelming the mind
Immersive – Activity must be intense and multi-faceted
Automaticity – Details of actions are sub-conscious
Instant Gratification – Feedback is immediate
Incremental progress is immediately perceptible
Familiarity – Do it using a language & technology you know
Comfort – Good ergonomics, personalized surroundings, and
full stomach
Listen to music
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12. The Flow Channel
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13. Experience & Flow
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14. Flow Channel & Learning
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15. What stops FLOW?
Confusion (No Control) - I don’t know why or what I am doing
Coercion (No Control) – I don’t WANT to do what I’m doing
Frustration (No Rewards) – What I do doesn’t help!
Boredom (No Challenge) – One tunes out during menial tasks,
they don’t flow!
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16. How does FLOW help
programming?
Connects coding to happiness;
making it exciting not boring
Integrates thinking and coding into
one mental process
Allows intuitive parts of brain to
manage complexity
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17. Addicted to Flow
Flow causes “workaholics” and video game addiction
Drugs seek to replicate what Flow does naturally
Do not choose Flow instead of life
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18. How does PNNL promote FLOW?
Policies for employee engagement
Control - “At work, do your opinions seem to count”
Challenge - “In the last year, have you had opportunities to
learn and grow?”
Reward (Extrinsic) – “In the last seven days, have you
received recognition or praise for doing good work?”
Reward (Intrinsic) - “At work, do you have the opportunity to
do what you do best every day?”
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19. Questions?
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20. THANK YOU!
And May The Flow Be With You
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