[PhunkyPhil]

> whenever I'm walking my dog, working out, cooking dinner, or taking a shower - I still keep thinking about the things I need to solve, the failing tests, the PR comments, my open-source projects, etc.

This isn't an axiomatic quality of software engineering though. For every developer with your level of dedication (obsession? anxiety?), how many developers log off at 5 and compartmentalize their work away from their personal life?

That being said, your other paragraphs are pretty agreeable to me.

[iLemming]

> how many developers log off at 5

Programming is an act of creation. Any creative worker - artists, sculptors, novelists, potters will agree, you cannot timebox your creation - it creeps back into your life even when you're away from your studio, from your desk.

I have worked in several different countries. With diverse teams of programmers of different levels of expertise. Different stacks, various types of industries. Most programmers are creators. Those who log off at 5, don't think about it and keep it separate from their lives are "office workers" at best - maybe not even programmers, I'm not sure what to call them. I met that kind of people only twice (with some stretching, maybe three times) during my work life. Both of them ended up switching to different roles later. So, yes, to a certain degree it is perhaps "an axiomatic quality" after all.