Author: Chris

Cognitive Biases in Software Engineering

“This is one of the harder biases to get over in my opinion, because it means acknowledging our own limitations, and really stressing the fragile parts of the code that we write. We all want and expect our software to work, so we are inescapably drawn to evidence that confirms this desire. Keep fighting this urge, keep testing, and always question your assumptions.”

Jonathan Klein on how our brains deceive us when encountering issues in software development.

Maciej Ceglowski, creator of Pinboard on Cognitive Burnout

“Avoiding burnout is difficult to write about, because the basic premise is obnoxious. Burnout is a rich man’s game. Rice farmers don’t get burned out and spend long afternoons thinking about whether to switch to sorghum. Most people don’t have the luxury of thinking about their lives in those terms. But at the rarefied socioeconomic heights of computerland, it’s true that if you run a popular project by yourself for a long time, there’s a high risk that it will wear you out.

…

What burns you out is the constant strain of being responsible for a lot of other people’s stuff.

The good news is, as you get older, you gain perspective. Perspective helps alleviate burnout.”

 

It does seem circumspect to complain about the benefits of working in an air-conditioned, safe, not physically taxing office like one does, but man – is burnout ever a thing to worry about.

Congratulations to Maciej, doing anything for 5 years straight is amazing. Running a big and successful web-based company is even more impressive.

Viva la Indie Revolution

“I don’t pass on five million, and it’s inconceivable that someone would, but that’s not what a large company is designed to do. They are not oriented around snacking. They want to fill their baleen with seawater and strain out four and a half tons of krill per day. “

Tycho (aka Jerry) from Penny Arcade pens exactly what’s happening with the recent renaissance of gaming that’s taking place. Big companies can’t sustain themselves with smaller titles, yet a large number of the best games to come out in recent years are just that – small indie titles. He thinks the tides are turning and don’t look good for big publishers, but I think that there’s plenty of room at the table. Regardless, it’s a great time to be a video game fan.

P.S. You’re playing Shovel Knight, right?