Keynote: Steps to Wisdom
summary
Seasoned developers adopt the mindset this should work and push past stuck points by reading compiler errors, searching, asking on include Discord or emailing colleagues; 45 years of field experience reinforces that. Practical tactics: keep a scientific‑notebook style Word document with screenshots and pasted code for spikes and migrations, write meeting notes to prevent relitigation, and ask crisp questions like why hasn't that happened yet and what did you think that would fix to surface blockers and next actions.
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chapters (26)
- 0:00Introduction
- 1:01Metaphors for life and career
- 2:29Making better decisions
- 4:08Learning through experience
- 5:35Building a store of wisdom
- 7:59The 'try it now' mindset
- 11:18Observing and recording
- 14:06Preventing re-litigation
- 16:00The power of note-taking
- 17:58Taking notes while working alone
- 23:41Notes in adversarial situations
- 25:04Connections between people
- 27:43Learning from industry stories
- 29:36Spotting patterns
- 30:43Avoiding overgeneralization
- 34:10Powerful questions to ask
- 37:20Identifying accountability
- 37:54Analyzing consequences
- 39:58How to ask for information
- 40:57Empathy in crises
- 42:30Asking yourself questions
- 43:15Using goals to drive decisions
- 44:05Priorities and values
- 46:18Writing your own eulogy
- 48:50Continuous learning
- 50:53Conclusion
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