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  • in Culture
  • 1 min read

Does Software Development Change the Way You Think?

As a developer, have you noticed that you approach life differently than "normal" people? After all those years of training and career, do you think differently than how you used to?

In other words, do you approach non-coding problems like code?

Some examples:

  • Breaking problems into parts, like modular code: e.g. you plan a trip by organising flights and hotels like modules.
  • Spotting reusable patterns: e.g. you standardise meeting agendas using templates.
  • Debugging: e.g. you troubleshoot a friend's wifi by methodically working from the edge to the ISP.

Are these shifts unique to coding? Do they make life better or just annoy those around you?

Everyone and anyone are welcome to join as long as you are kind, supportive, and respectful of others.

thinking

  • in Culture
  • 1 min read

Tech Solutions to Global Issues: Always, Sometimes, or Never?

“The trick is not to skate where the puck is, but to skate where the puck is going.” This is Wayne Gretzky quoted in an article from IndustryWired in March 2019. The article highlights our urgent global challenges and advocates for technology as a solution. It presents solutions like:

  • Carbon Capture
  • Grid-Scale Energy Storage
  • Universal Flu Vaccines
  • Earthquake Prediction

What are your views on technology’s role in addressing the big global issues? Does tech offer the most effective approach? Are there negative side-effects to always leaning on tech for solutions to such problems?

Everyone and anyone are welcome to join as long as you are kind, supportive, and respectful of others.

tsunami travel times graph

  • in Culture
  • 1 min read

Your Project, Your Choice

In today's Weekly Dev Chat (March 18) we propose a hypothetical:

If given complete freedom, which project or undertaking would you work on at your current job? If not your current job, then as a personal project?

So, if you're currently working and you get your choice from the Jira buffet or you could propose a new ticket entirely, what would you go for? And don’t worry, the boss is feeling extra persuadable today and there’s no need to time-box. Are you refactoring that entire 700,000-line enterprise codebase (finally)? Are you grabbing your designer to do a complete restart on that eye-bleeding UI/UX that you've had to look at for the past decade? If it's not in your current job, is there a project or learning endeavour you're dying to pursue if only there was more time in the day (or more of you)? Excited to see what's on your personal backlog.

Everyone and anyone are welcome to join as long as you are kind, supportive, and respectful of others. Zoom link will be posted at 12pm Mountain Time.

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