We spend most of our times obsessing about the actual act of programming. Is this method name too long? Should I refactor this code? How do I fix this bug? However, sometimes, large gains can be made by drawing in experience from totally different fields.
I think there's a lot a programmer can learn from the study of epistemology, logic, metaphysics, moral and political philosophy, and aesthetics. In this talk, I'll give an overview of a bunch of interesting thinkers, philosophical problems, and how they relate to the worlds of software development, open source, and startups.
Totally agree, for me studying music has been a great help, and i believe that be pragmatic about solving a problem is better than be worry about the size of a method.