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That time when programming saved my life

Arik on May 26, 2018

The year was 2000 and I had been a soldier in the Israeli Defense Force beginning my second year of my mandatory 3 year serving term. My post i...
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Matt Eland

I kinda expected the old unit to get wiped out or something.

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David Fernandes

Of course you were. The "programming" part of the title was not what got you into. :)

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Adam

Hey David, I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand what you mean.

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David Fernandes

It was a reply to Matt's. See the thread indentation. ;)

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Adam

Damn. That was silly of me lol

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David Fernandes

Anyhow, what I meant to say was that a "click-bait" only deceives the ones who (actively) expect the "promise" the bait "gives": in this case, a supposedly dramatic outcome. Moreover they don't seem very aware about the diference between conotative and denotative meaning. Tabloids live by these people. :)

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Adam

Very well said. That last sentence pretty much sums it all up, aha

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Adam

Okay well unfortunately for you that didn't happen. I was asking Shy Shalom anyway.

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Adam

Out of curiosity, what was you expecting? Without knowing the thoughts Arik was having or the feelings he felt, I think it's unfair to assume that it didn't actually save his life. Unless you expected a javaScript bullet proof vest or something else that would physically save a life?

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Shy Shalom

I expected to read about how programming saved his life. Considering the title states that programming saved his life, I don't think that's such an exaggerated expectation. I was not expecting the article to end without any mention what so ever of the life saving promised in the title.

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Adam

Okay that's fair enough if you need it to be literally typed out to receive that message. I read the whole thing too and my assumption was that he felt his life had been saved when something happened that allowed him to take a completely different life path. As an example, My life was saved when my son was born, although strangely enough I wasn't in life threatening danger either.

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Adam

Everyone saying this is just clickbait is an absolute shining example of how people act like dickheads on the internet. I'm so glad you found programming when you did, Arik. I'm glad you felt it saved your life and I'm very glad you shared the story. Genuinely makes me angry and a little upset to see how many people wanted a horror story of you nearly dying or something equally terrible like "the old unit getting wiped out" as one user so graciously put it. Fucking disgusting.

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Ben Halpern

Thanks for enforcing community values Adam. Mods have taken appropriate action.

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Adam

I was actually worried I might get flagged for 'vulgar language' lol - I really love this place and it's been such a nice way to get all the code info I want without the harsh replies on Stackoverflow or the constant distractions on Twitter. After reading the article and relating somewhat I was really worried to see that it was Arik's first and (after a load of mean comments) potentially last post! I actually mentioned to my girlfriend I could probably have just told you and you would have sorted it but I try to avoid being a snowflake when I can aha. Thanks a lot Ben (and the mods!!) Really appreciate what your doing with this site.

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Ben Halpern

Thanks for the kind words, we're really trying!

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Brian Ruff

Where was the life saving?

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HowToCodejs

This is a great story. It's also a perfect example of the kitchen vs restaurant mentality. With the internet, most expect tutorials to automatically serve them everything about the subject they want to learn. But without trying to solve a problem or build a project, you can't truly take a step forward towards learning, say, JavaScript.

Cooking up phone book databases might be the way to go ;)

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Pumpedfuel

Excellent article similar to my foray into coding, and here I am 20years later still as excited as ever

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Arik

My sentiments exactly

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Shahar • Edited

No one will ever understand how much life saving that was until they will serve 3 years in the most boring place for just 120$ per month with no other option at all. Good post, inspiring

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Jasmine English

Fun story, but not really life saving.

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Arik

Thanks, but I beg to differ. Joining the army in my country was not optional and having to serve a 3 year term doing a job I absolutely abhored felt more like prison than anything else. So while the story is not about dodging bullets or escaping Hollywood-style bombing it had everything to do with saving my sanity.

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Adam

And who benefited from that traffic?

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Abdul Qadir Luqman

Arik, only you can understand how programming saved your life. Don't explain yourself to anyone. These same people have made SO kind of boring and they are bringing the same attitude here.

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Anna Rankin

That's awesome! So glad you perservered and were able to not only solve a real problem, but transition into something you loved! 💯

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Arik

Thanks Anna!

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