Things I Believe
Now That I'm Old
@rosstuck
WebCamp 2014
“How old are you?”
29 -15
14
29
30
years remaining5049
Advice
Not dataNot facts
Not related resources
Advice
Dear Abby
Answers
Cheap to giveEasy to get
78~ years avg
years remaining5049
Distilled Experience
Optimize
Adviceabout advice
with advice I was given
Recursion
7 Steps
Step 1Consider the source
AbleUnable
Able
Helpful
Not helpful
Unable
Able
Helpful
Not helpful
Lead dev
Unable
AbleUnable
Helpful
Not helpful
Lead devJunior dev
Not about right or wrong
Weight
Good and Bad
“Listen to your elders.”
“Stop with this HTML stuff. Flash is the future.”
2000
Seemed legit.
Spoiler alert:Flash didn't make it
Able
Helpful
Not helpful
Colleagues
Unable
I was an idiot.am
Consider the source
Broader View
Able
Helpful
Not helpful
Unable
Able
Helpful
Not helpful
Unable
Able
Helpful
Not helpful
Unable
Able
Helpful
Not helpful
Unable
Tinfoil hats aside
“Your money is safe with Goldman Sachs.”
Able
Helpful
Not helpful
Banks
Unable
“You should be...”
“You should be...*hic*...”
“You should be more of a shark.”
Step 2Consider the context
1 laptop bag2 suitcases
14 cardboard boxes
KidsHouseSpouse
Pet Mouse
Different situation
Everyday Example
“Just hack it up.”
Sometimes it's the right thing to do
Context is important
BDD is about gathering contextDesign Patterns often miss context
“Right tool for the right job.”
Which is better for chopping vegetables?
“Chainsaws are an antipattern.”
Context
Step 3Be open to advice
Answer
“You're never going to learn anything with your mouth open.”
Hard way
Humiliating story of my career
No idea.
Ummm...
It was a long time ago, ok?
“Read these books.”
I left the interview...
...with a reading list.
I did.
And I got better.
Hacker
Hacker > Engineer
Thanks.
Be open
“Do you know why this cup is useful? Because it is empty.”
-Bruce Lee
Step 4Use it
“Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t.”
-Erica Jong
Pardon the profanity
“Shit or get off the pot.”
“Don't be a chickenshit.”
IndecisionFear
“Will I regret not doing this in 48.5 years?”
Habit
“Everything comes with a price.”
Different kinds of prices
Moral
“You have to do what you think is right.”
Nathaniel Borenstein
destroyBaghdad();
destroyCity();
destroyCity('Baghdad');
Ethics
Dark Side
There's a price
Pay it
Don't pay it
Choose
“Say thank you.”
Step 5Meditate on it
Did it work as expected?
Would you do it again?
Did you get what you wanted?
Are you happy?
sydneypadua.com
Cognitive Dissonance
“I want the grapes”+ “I can't have the grapes”
Distress
Something's gotta give
“I want the grapes”+ “I can't have the grapes”
Distress
“Those grapes probably suck”+ “I can't have the grapes”
Distress
“Those grapes probably suck”+ “I can't have the grapes”
Bearable
Cognitive Dissonance
Lying to yourself
Remember where you started
Be honest with yourself
“Don't be too hard on yourself.”
Realistic expectation
Realistic expectation
SMART goals
SMART
SpecificMART
SpecificMeasurableART
SpecificMeasurableAttainableRT
SpecificMeasurableAttainableRelevantT
SpecificMeasurableAttainableRelevantTime-Bound
SMART
Continuous Improvement
“You can do better.”
“At what?”
“At life. Everything.”
“...That standard must be our standard. If you are going to be a builder, no other standard is worthwhile. That is what I expect of myself in my own buildings, and it is what I expect of my students.”
“Gradually, I show the students that they have a right to ask this of themselves, and must ask this of themselves.”
Honesty
Don't be discouraged
“Wow. That's amazing.”
Step 6Give it
“I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it.”
-Oscar Wilde
“Watch one. Do one. Teach one.”- Ancient Med School Proverb
Small things
Like this
“Use a stuffed animal.”
Advice is a meme
Memes evolve
Improve
“Be humble.”
You owe that.
“We must be very careful when we give advice to younger people:
sometimes they follow it!”- Edsger Dijkstra
Step 7Collect Advice
Environment
Code ReviewSprint Retrospective
360 FeedbackInternal Workshops
Safe
Ask
Ask a lot
DFQ
Continuous Improvement
You never know what you're going to need.
“You'll understand when you're older.”
It's true
Und
erst
andi
ng
Time
Stockpile the crap out of it.
55+ developers
The Motherlode
“Find a mentor.”
Epilogue
Art by Nat Alt | natalt.co.uk
Admit you were wrong.
Talk about talking better.
You can reach more people than you think.
Learn other ways to master your own way.
Just because it works doesn't mean it can't work better.
You can go big.
Design for how usersactually use.
Good design aids communication.
Always evolve.
Work together and separately.
Everything can be coded.
Redis is AWESOME.
Make your time count.
Meet New People
Advice comes from people
Learned
Lived
Paid For
Open Source
Things I Believe Now That I'm Old
Things I Believe Now That I'm Old(er)inPeople
years remaining5049
Thank You
Image Credits• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1281623• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1146398• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/480556• http://www.flickr.com/photos/seldaek/9647408557/sizes/h/• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chartres_Cath%2BGare.JPG• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1124522• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/190426• http://www.flickr.com/photos/cappellmeister/5926625/sizes/o/• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1128251• http://www.flickr.com/photos/west_point/5557057223/sizes/l/• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Charlton_Heston_in_The_Ten_Commandments_film_trailer.jpg• http://www.flickr.com/photos/dullhunk/2859826117/sizes/l/• http://www.iconarchive.com/show/looney-tunes-icons-by-sykonist/Marvin-Martian-icon.html• http://www.amazon.com/The-Mountain-Three-Short-Sleeve/dp/B000NZW3KC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382383730&sr=8-1&k
eywords=three+wolf+moon+t-shirt• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/126380• http://www.amosphotography.com/data/photos/256_1greatwhitesharksmiling.jpg• http://www.flickr.com/photos/rob_moments/5170055335/sizes/l/• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1166351• http://www.flickr.com/photos/xtrah/5005443977/sizes/o/• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/285330• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/134456• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1426482• http://www.flickr.com/photos/artbystevejohnson/4667347603/• http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/scottishnews/3775517/The-chainsaw-chef.html
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