Fear of Programming
summary
Fear shows up as the blank page, scary legacy code, the dread of writing bad code or not finishing, and even a fear of finishing; all are legitimate warning signals not decision-makers. Practical countermeasures include strangle it with tests to safely change legacy systems, prototype and throw away (four-hour hacks to learn the problem), breaking work into single failing tests, pair programming, using worst-case scenarios, and returning to passion or community support; recommended reads: The War of Art and Art and Fear.
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chapters (28)
- 0:00Intro
- 0:50Sit Down
- 5:05Everyone has fears
- 5:50Fear of a blank page
- 7:05Fear of existing code
- 8:27Fear of not finishing
- 9:30Fear of burnout
- 12:37Fear about others
- 15:45Fear and pain
- 18:45Tools
- 21:17Testing
- 24:21Prototype
- 26:01Worstcase scenarios
- 27:51Books
- 29:06Pair Programming
- 29:41Explain
- 30:11Identify
- 30:31Write
- 30:51The Dark Side
- 31:51Satisfying
- 32:51Play with the problem
- 33:31Take a deep breath
- 33:56Risk management
- 34:31Accountability
- 35:16Fear Theory
- 36:21Neurosis
- 38:11Love
- 43:41Conclusion
related talks
27mDebugging the Mind: Understanding Fear in Technology
23mCode and Fear: Talent, Art, and Software Development
35mProject Fear
02h 13mFear in Tech
45mFear and the Evolution of Languages
26mWhat Happens When You Don't Write the Code — Advice I Wish I'd Taken 10 Years Ago
05mDealing with Fear: A Primer
45mEgo-less Programming: the Philosophy of Better Code
