Greater Than Code
Greater Than Code
#technology #psychology #tech #education #humanity #technology #business #society&culture

For a long time, tech culture has focused too narrowly on technical skills; this has resulted in a tech community that too often puts companies and code over people. Greater Than Code is a podcast that invites the voices of people who are not heard from enough in tech: women, people of color, trans and/or queer folks, to talk about the human side of software development and technology. Greater Than Code is providing a vital platform for these conversations, and developing new ideas of what it means to be a technologist beyond just the code. Featuring an ongoing panel of racially and gender diverse tech panelists, the majority of podcast guests so far have been women in tech! We’ve covered topics including imposter syndrome, mental illness, sexuality, unconscious bias and social justice. We also have a major focus on skill sets that tech too often devalues, like team-building, hiring, community organizing, mentorship and empathy. Each episode also includes a transcript. We have an active Slack community that members can join by pledging as little as $1 per month via Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/greaterthancode)

200: "Bad Code" with Damien Burke

September 16, 2020 1:03:40 74.54 MB Downloads: 0

02:58 - Damien’s Superpower: Being able to hold contradictory beliefs at the same time.

  • Working in VERY Local Government (for the City of Los Angeles)

07:05 - What is “Bad Code”?

16:38 - What should you do with “Bad Code”?

  • Nothing? (I know it’s bad but it’s okay!)
  • Do it later? (If you can put it off and make it better later, put it off!)

19:12 - Working With Others: Agreeing on “Good Code”

  • Go-to Values
    • Can we understand this? Does it convey the meaning we want it to convey?
    • What is most communicative?

24:34 - Damien’s Background in Hypnosis

  • Speaking to the Subconscious
  • Prescriptivity: Judgement & Punishment

34:14 - Doing Things The Easy Way

  • Easy Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Fast

41:07 - Distinctions Between Teaching and Learning

  • Learning is Goal-Driven
  • Perfection
  • Numbers tell a story. Numbers can’t give you wisdom.

54:02 - Creating Shared Understanding (in code)

Reflections:

Jamey: 1) Doing things yourself. 2) I want code to be beautiful because I like things that are beautiful.

Rein: The importance of small changes.

Damien: The power of language and story and its’ application in the engineering world in a team and in the code you write.

This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep of DevReps, LLC. To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode

To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps. You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well.

Special Guest: Damien Burke.

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