Reinventing the wheel

[Intellect]

For as long as I can remember, I've had this need to build things from scratch myself. I usually think that I can do things better than they've been done previously and I also feel a little cheap/inauthentic when I'm using the work of others.

I do this in programming all the time: I hate using other people's libraries or pre-written code. I would much rather just build it myself from scratch, even if it means I won't be saving time.

I'm still not sure why I do this, but it's an attitude I've always held from the time I was young. I generally believe that shortcuts are inefficient and, in some cases, just cheating. I think it either stems from a need to work hard (to feel accomplished, maybe) or from a control issue of some sort.

Does anyone else constantly reinvent the wheel at work? Where does this desire come from?

Note: This post is aimed mainly at the engineer-types, but I guess it can apply to anyone. Curious to see other opinions.

 

[Coolydudey]

In maths, I always try to prove any theorem myself before seeing the normal proof and before using it. I also find many well-known results on my own. For example, I invented partial derivatives (knowing only one of their uses, having looked into how to do that class of problem for something else) while swimming. I still had a year and a half of school left. People complain about it all the time, saying I should wait till uni for that kind of stuff. It's irresistibbblllle..... ah well.

 

[Cognisant]

Emotional investment, when an artist makes art they invest themselves into it, as an expression of who they are their art also becomes part of what they are because an artist is measured by the art they have created, likewise your desire to "reinvent the wheel" demonstrates your artist like engineer's pride, speaking sentimentally you love what you create.

 

[nanook]

because your mind has the need to have a complete image of what you have created. images like that can be abstracted and used for other things, such as comprehending life, reality, your self. it's evolution of introverted intelligence. introversion is about the subject attempting to discover itself, creating things out of it's own image and looking for it's reflection inside of the creations. it's not shortsightedly-practical (extroverted) but pays out long term. your self is creating itself in doing so. and there you are thinking coding is about software.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=229boZXqLMw&feature=player_detailpage&list=WL3064B9F2D000B9EC#t=28s

 

[Ex-User (5841)]

I reinvented it for some small mammal trapping because alas, the traditional terrestrial methods recommended by my ISTJ and INTJ committee members would have never worked in seasonally flooded areas.

The same occurs every time I build a model in NetLogo, or write a grant proposal.

If we'd never reinvent the wheel, we'd never figure out how to improve it.

 

[EditorOne]

Building it yourself feeds your creativity and allows you to understand it more fully, and to extrapolate. You can learn a lot by reading about stuff, but building it or repairing it really deepens your understanding. It can get you in trouble, though: I was fixing an old car for a friend when I was a teenager and I got so engrossed in how it all worked that it went from simple, limited repairs to a new ring set for pistons and new valves for the head, which involved pulling the motor. All in a backyard. '54 Chevy, not that it matters. If I'd had enough money I'd have gone even farther.

 

[Words]

Not an engineer but I can relate on some level. I do it to truly understanding what's going on(which is beneficial because my mind becomes more adaptable and holistic) but it happens very differently for me. I start with the idea that I am indeed reinventing or re-conceptualizing something that is to be taken for granted, undeniable axioms or theorems, but what actually ends up occurring after the "process of reinvention" is that I don't re-invent, I end up inventing. I end up creating new but perhaps inferior methods and perspectives. One could simply memorize the conventions but the re-thinking have been useful to true comprehension. It gives a good sense of what is possible and not. The most important are the meager things, little yet crucial philosophical details that any analytical person could spot but are not stressed enough like the categorical meta-relationship between and among the different elements of an equation(bases, +/- operations, # of variables, #of factors, etc.), which you probably wouldn't get unless i elaborate, or simply the unique properties of every quantity(especially 1 and 0). Nevertheless, It makes me think about the insuffiency of schools and conventional knowledge. They don't know what they're talking about, they are simply conditioning minds to think in a very limited way---giving the wrong impression of the nature of the subject matter. They think it is so simple, when it is in fact very complex and can be approached and deconstructed in many ways. Or maybe I'm just insane.

 

[PhoenixRising]

I do the same thing, both in coding and artwork (I'm a digital artist/animator/web designer). I find that I like to re-create things because 1. I don't like "stealing" other people's work. 2. If I use something someone else created, then I won't know the exact process that was used to build it and I won't be able to troubleshoot any problems efficiently.

The second of these reasons is probably my strongest motivator in this matter. It's a frustrating experience to use an ActionScript file or 3D model that someone built with techniques that were off-base. Then things break and it's almost impossible to figure out why...

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Emotional investment, when an artist makes art they invest themselves into it, as an expression of who they are their art also becomes part of what they are because an artist is measured by the art they have created, likewise your desire to "reinvent the wheel" demonstrates your artist like engineer's pride, speaking sentimentally you love what you create.

because your mind has the need to have a complete image of what you have created. images like that can be abstracted and used for other things, such as comprehending life, reality, your self.

Building it yourself feeds your creativity and allows you to understand it more fully, and to extrapolate. You can learn a lot by reading about stuff, but building it or repairing it really deepens your understanding.

Agree with these points. Emotional investment related to pride and expression is a major reason for involving yourself in such a thing, and comprehensive understanding is a major benefit from thoroughly working on a project.

Although for most people understanding how and why something works may not be important, for people who have the respective interest it would allow them inventive thinking which could lead to major breakthroughs on a societal level.

 

[Auburn]

I do this in programming all the time: I hate using other people's libraries or pre-written code. I would much rather just build it myself from scratch, even if it means I won't be saving time.

Does anyone else constantly reinvent the wheel at work? Where does this desire come from?

I do this too. I really enjoy coding because of the total creative freedom it gives. I'm an artist, so I look at it in the same way. Every sketch starts out with the same circles, and symmetry lines, framework. I guess I don't look at it as reinventing the wheel, as much as just the natural steps in the creation of something.

Plus there's a special satisfaction when I finish coding a website and knowing that every pixel was placed there for a reason, and I know what it is.

Though I only know how to code in HTML/CSS/JS, and only as a laymen since I don't work in programming.