Ben Stout

Background

About Ben Stout

I started programming in 7th grade (1981) as a hobby. I never took a computer class in school, but had the drive and interest to read books and learn BASIC, Pascal, C, VB, Delphi and Java on my own. I've owned my own consulting company for 7 years and made a living at software development for over 25 years. I have an MA in Psychology and BAs in Psychology and Philosophy and minor in Sociology. I thought I was headed to a PhD program in Illinois for Psychology, but I realized my passion was computers and it has always been in figuring things out and solving some problem. Psychology and Philosophy were also about figuring things out, but there weren't agreed upon answers, measurements or even how to take measurements. In side jobs in college I found the technology space was a perfect fit for my interests and I changed direction from Psychology and survey research to software and technology. My drive comes from not wanting merely the answer that works, but the answer that is the correct one. Lots of things "work"​ but I enjoy finding the better answer - an answer that offers more simplicity in the solution, better understanding of the problem or more flexibility in the inevitable changing demands. There's always a chance to question your assumptions and your previous decisions. There's always a better answer out there. you just have to keep looking.