Pair programming is like treating the other mind as an extension of yours. You have to force each mind to be on the same thought and same problem. If one side wanders off, they have to be brought back.

When one decides to go in a wild new direction, the other has to follow or pull in the other direction. When one makes a mistake, the other has to correct it.

When it starts to flow, it's a form of intimacy that can be extremely gratifying as it begins to feel like 1 or 2 additional programmers are in the room. You learn each others strengths and weaknesses, and the combined power of 2 minds can do things that the individuals were incapable of doing.

I understand pair programming. I've done it, the hard part is finding a compatible human to whom you can experience it with. When it really flows and you feel the additional ghost programmers helping out, it's like sex. A cosmic melding of two minds. When you are apart, it's like 75% of you is missing, and that is kind of sad.