Opinion

The Balloonist and the Programmer

A man is flying in a hot air balloon and he soon realizes that he’s completely lost.

So, he starts reducing height and then he suddenly spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon a little further and then shouts: “Excuse me sir I was wondering, can you tell me where I am? I seem to be lost.” 

Taken by surprise, the man looks up and replies “Yeah, that’s easy. You’re in a hot air balloon, hovering about 25 feet above this field.” 

“You must work in IT. I’m guessing you work as a programmer?” says the balloonist.

“I do and yes, I am,” replies the man, looking a little surprised, “How did you guess?” 

“Well” says the balloonist, “everything you’ve told me is technically correct but it’s of no actual use to anyone.” 

The programmer smiles and then says, “Ah, you must be the CEO in a business.” 

“Yes, I am” replies the balloonist, “but how could you know that?” 

“That’s easy,” says the programmer. “You don’t know where you are or where you’re going but you expect me to be able to help. You’re in the same position you were before we met but now it’s my fault.”