The Programmer's Stone is a theory and course on how to think in order to be an effective computer programmer put together by Alan G. Carter and Colston Sanger in 1997.
Contents
Background
Carter originated the course from trying to explain the well-known phenomenon of some programmers being ten or even a hundred times as productive as others, by several measures, and the thinking patterns this would require.
Thesis
The central notion of the Programmer's Stone is that there are two methods of thought, mapping and packing; that mappers make highly effective programmers, whereas packers do not; and that packers can be taught mapping and hence become effective programmers. Yet as of now there is a fundamental communication barrier between the mappers and packers. Not only would they program differently they would also use words with different meanings, depending on their mindset. Packers are named after knowledge packets that float around and can be stacked. Mappers are named after knowledge maps where each bit of information connects up with others and often allows shortcuts or clever hacks. Mappers tend to reimplement a project if necessary while the packers would see an unnecessary intrusion into their work and waste. The mappers develop from insight to insight a shorter code until the customer gets what they desired. Mappers also teach themselves.
Sequels
After the Programmer's Stone, Carter developed the notions found in it into a personal cosmology called Reciprocality. He later revised and re-presented the same set of ideas in the form a book entitled The Third Age of the World: Magic and Science in the 21st Century, which is available online. Following up from that came a blog the-programmers-stone.com with the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) cognitive test.