Munchausen syndrome is a psychiatric disorder, where the patient feigns illness to draw attention and sympathy to themselves. I am not ill, nor do I feign illness, but I have noticed a behavior at work that elicits a similar response. I’m speaking of the task routinely performed by computational analysts called debugging. An analyst, such as me, writes a computer program or develops a computer model and then tries to exercise it. In my experience, this process initially encounters problems. These problems are invariably of my own making, even if unconsciously so. Solving or debugging these problems usually requires the attention of sympathetic co-workers.

A particularly tough bug can elicit the support of several co-workers, who study the problem together much like a squad of police detectives would a crime scene. Eventually, there is an ah-hah moment, which is followed by a brief celebration. A feeling of euphoria pervades until the next bug is encountered.

This syndrome has been my life for the last few weeks. I have labored mightily in these weeks to overcome my issues and on Wednesday, I achieved a personal breakthrough. The job that I have been preparing and trying to run launched successfully. As with the launch of any venture, a successful landing is never guaranteed, and such is the case here.

Over the next few days, my computer model will sail and reveal only on landing the success or failure of its mission. Over the next few days, like a farmer watching his crops grow, I’ll pray for success, but also prepare for failure. Over the next few days, I’ll regroup, refresh and prepare for the next even greater hurdle and then the  even harder debugging yet to come. If the job runs successfully, I feel like a hero then, otherwise though, I’ll steal a page from the Munchkin scene in the Wizard of Oz.

We welcome you to Munchausen Land
We welcome you to Munchausen Land
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Bike Ride Report – Anne is 11 for 11, with 11 12 on the 11th.