2023

This month I want to highlight an article, The Worst Programmer I Know, by Dan North. The article title is facetious, of course, however this article touches on a very real issue – metrics are imperfect approximations of the real world. British statistician George Box famously said “all models are wrong, but some are useful.”…

This month I want to highlight an article, Good engineers train their skills – great engineers improve their mindset, by Juraj Malenica. In this article, the author takes time to describe three learning phases (Adjustment, Intuition Building, Stagnation), which gives us a model to self-identify our current state, and evaluate how we feel about it.…

This month I want to highlight an article, The Tyranny of Nits – How open source work sputters and dies, by Leafwing Studios. Although this article contextualizes problems around open source development, it hits on several commonplace software development themes, such as motivating high performers, weeding out unintentionally undermining behaviors, and prioritizing forward progress. At…

This month I want to highlight a short YouTube video, (Life) Advice From The Creator of C++, featuring Bjarne Stroustrup. Bjarne is one of the most impactful Computer Scientists alive, having invented C++ in 1985. In this video, Bjarne gives career advice he acquired through the decades, which I found particularly sage. This video makes…

This month I want to highlight an X post (formerly Twitter tweet) by Esther Crawford. Esther provides her insider insights on Twitter, Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase, Twitter’s transition to X, and Elon Musk’s leadership style. From my outsider’s perspective, Twitter’s purchase and nearly all subsequent decisions were haphazard, tumultuous, and ill-advised. Twitter’s business decisions come…

This month I want to highlight an article, 3 Mistakes I Made as an Engineer, but Had To Become a Manager To See, by Ryan Peterman. In this article, the author describes three quality lessons he learned through his experience, and I wanted to add additional context to the first learning: “People problems are as…

This month I want to highlight an article, Leaders are ignoring the dangers of ‘confidently incorrect’ AI: Why it’s a massive problem, by Oliver Pickup. Generative AI (“GenAI”) is the current hottest topic inside tech companies and among technophiles. When ChatGPT went public in November 2022, it created endless possibilities for everyone to simplify their…

This month I want to highlight an article, Mastering complexity in Software Engineering, by Dennis Schröder. Dennis discusses complexity in software engineering, however I find these same lessons apply equally to all aspects of product development. Start small to move fast, and iterate/refactor as you grow; this is as true for software development as it…

This month I want to highlight an article, The Age of AI has begun, by Bill Gates. Bill dives in to the emergence of AI-driven systems, such as ChatGPT, and the problems AIs are solving. He explores how AI can benefit humanity, through productivity enhancement, health, and education, while also acknowledging the current limitations and…

This month I want to highlight a blog post, Cheaters Will Never Be Welcome in Dota, by the Dota development team. Dota is a MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game from Valve, and is considered a catalyst for the entire MOBA genre. Valve released this brief post describing a recent ban wave. What is interesting…