{"id":1655,"date":"2017-11-30T15:38:46","date_gmt":"2017-11-30T15:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antpace.com\/blog\/?p=1655"},"modified":"2025-08-25T13:52:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T13:52:10","slug":"interview-with-a-programmer-proust-questionnaire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antpace.com\/blog\/interview-with-a-programmer-proust-questionnaire\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with a Programmer – Proust Questionnaire"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Proust Questionnaire is named after Marcel Proust – the writer. The list of questions was not created by him, but popularized by his answers and eventually resurrected as a common interview guide. I collect questions as a hobby, and these are great additions.<\/p>\n

As an exercise in writing, and in thinking, I’ll provide my answers here. I hope you enjoy what I have to say.<\/b><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?<\/strong> Happiness is like a good cup of coffee – it’s not just about reaching the last drop, but savoring every sip along the way. And if I can share that cup with good company, that’s the perfect blend of happiness for me.<\/li>\n
  2. What is your greatest fear?<\/strong> I fear ending up on a deserted island with only a volleyball for company. So, let’s keep the social circles intact, shall we?<\/li>\n
  3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?<\/strong> I try to keep my inner critic on a strict diet – nobody needs that kind of negativity in their lives. Let’s serve up some self-love instead!<\/li>\n
  4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?<\/strong> Selfishness is like a bad haircut – it’s noticeable from a mile away, and nobody wants to be caught wearing it.<\/li>\n
  5. Which living person do you most admire?<\/strong> I’ve got a list of virtual mentors longer than my grocery receipt. It’s like having a buffet of inspiration – why settle for just one dish?<\/li>\n
  6. What is your greatest extravagance?<\/strong> When it comes to splurging, I’m guilty of treating my taste buds to the VIP section. Fine dining is my weakness, and I’m not even sorry about it.<\/li>\n
  7. What is your current state of mind?<\/strong> Picture a sunshine emoji doing cartwheels – that’s my current state of mind: optimistic and doing flips of joy.<\/li>\n
  8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?<\/strong> Patience is a virtue, they say. But let’s be real, waiting in line is overrated – I’m all about that express lane in life!<\/li>\n
  9. On what occasion do you lie?<\/strong> Only when I’m auditioning for a role in a spy movie. Honesty is my superpower, but a little white lie can save the day sometimes, right?<\/li>\n
  10. What do you most dislike about your appearance?<\/strong> They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if I could change one thing, I’d love to have a built-in snack dispenser. Now, that’s what I call convenient!<\/li>\n
  11. Which living person do you most despise?<\/strong> Ain’t nobody got time for hate. Let’s spread love like confetti instead!<\/li>\n
  12. What is the quality you most like in a person?<\/strong> Honesty is like a good joke – it’s best when it’s not forced. And a sprinkle of humor? That’s the cherry on top!<\/li>\n
  13. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?<\/strong> If my words were a playlist, they’d be on repeat more often than my favorite song. But hey, at least I keep things familiar, right? Maybe in the future, AI can listen to us all day, and give us a weekly digest of how to improve our speech along with a list of overused phrases.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    These are my answers, and I hope they help you get a better idea of who I am. One of the most interesting applications of these queries is in fiction writing, to help build realistic characters. Creating worlds with living identities is an art, and characterization questionnaires are a helpful tool in adding depth.<\/p>\n

    I plan to continually return to this post and update my answers over time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Proust Questionnaire is named after Marcel Proust – the writer. The list of questions was not created by him, but popularized by his answers and eventually resurrected as a common interview guide. I collect questions as a hobby, and these are great additions. As an exercise in writing, and in thinking, I’ll provide my … <\/p>\n

    Continue reading “Interview with a Programmer – Proust Questionnaire”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[102,145],"class_list":["post-1655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marketing","tag-questions","tag-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antpace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antpace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antpace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antpace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antpace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1655"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.antpace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3134,"href":"https:\/\/www.antpace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1655\/revisions\/3134"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antpace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antpace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antpace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antpace.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}