A programmer from a very large computer company went to a software conference
and then returned to report to his manager, saying: ``What sort of programmers
work for other companies? They behaved badly and were unconcerned with
appearances. Their hair was long and unkempt and their clothes were wrinkled
and old. They crashed our hospitality suite and they made rude noises during my
presentation.''

The manager said: ``I should have never sent you to the conference. Those
programmers live beyond the physical world. They consider life absurd, an
accidental coincidence. They come and go without knowing limitations. Without
a care, they live only for their programs. Why should they bother with social
conventions?

``They are alive within the Tao.''
-- The Tao of Programming