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)
Episode 002: Neutralizing Imposter Syndrome with Avdi Grimm
00:16 – Welcome to “The Meta Four!” …we mean, “Greater Than Code!”
01:30 – Chef Avdi Grimm’s Introduction
02:19 – RubyTapas; Production, Typing, and Editing
10:52 – Real World Programming: Episode #346: User; LiveCoding.tv
12:24 – Neutralizing Impostor Syndrome
13:32 – Break time and getting to know our new panelist, Astrid Countee!
"I've never met a junior who wasn't extremely senior in some area of life I know nothing about" @dbrady @greaterthancode
— Jessica Kerr (@jessitron) October 5, 2016
24:15 – Neutralizing Imposter Syndrome (Cont’d)
25:42 – Live Coding
28:29 – What non-Ruby technologies have you been exploring lately? ~ Darin Wilson
29:05 – PHP
35:56 – Should a screencast series like RubyTapas also go beyond code? Talk about topics like dealing with frustration when programming, for example?
~Lucas Dohman
“Programming can be an incredibly judgmental culture and environments can be really poisonous.” ~ Avdi Grimm
- Bias in Computer Systems
- Carina C. Zona: Schemas for the Real World @ SCNA 2013
- Carina C. Zona: Consequences of an Insightful Algorithm @ JSConf EU 2015
Reflections:
Sam: You can use your ego and your attachment to the code, but make it not about yourself. Instead, try to focus on what your code is bringing to other people and maybe that can help you try to figure out how to make it better without getting stuck.
Coraline: We got to see a glimpse into the whole person behind a persona. Even heroes are people with vulnerability, human flaws, anxieties, and weaknesses.
Astrid: Bring your whole self to everything.
Jessica: What we show matters.
Jay: Don’t be too quick to compare yourself to others.
David: Put your ideas out there and get them in front of other people. That is how you manufacture authority.
Avdi: Hidden Figures
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