HACKER Q&A
📣 revskill

The Brain of Non Programmer


Through the years, i notice that non programmers have different ways of thinking which made me wonder about theur brain structure. Do you know any materials or research on this topic ?

  👤 gregjor Accepted Answer ✓
Seems like a silly question. “Programmer” doesn’t describe an identity or type of person. It describes an activity or profession.

People can show different interests and aptitude without observable differences in brain structure.

Anecdotally it seems male programmers sit somewhere on the autism spectrum away from the median, and men make up the large majority of programmers. I don’t know of any research on brain structure but Gerald Weinberg’s book The Psychology Of Computer Programming has some insights.

👤 ksaj
Look up info on neuroplasticity.

One of it's primary areas of study include how the brain physically changes in response to behaviours, learning, stress, music, etc.

From Google's AI: Neuroplasticity can involve:

- Structural changes: The brain's structure can change through growth and reorganization.

- Functional changes: The brain's functions can change in response to stimuli.

- Synaptic changes: The strength of synaptic connections can change, and new synapses can be formed or eliminated.

Here is a book that I've read on the subject: https://www.amazon.ca/Brain-That-Changes-Itself-Frontiers/dp...