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)
217: Robots As "Social Entities" with Laura Major
02:05 - Laura’s Superpower: Problem Solving 04:07 - What to Expect When You’re Expecting Robots (https://www.amazon.com/What-Expect-Youre-Expecting-Robots/dp/1541699114) * Check out our interview with Laura’s coauthor: Greater Than Code Episode 216: Robot and Human Collaboration with Julie Shah (https://www.greaterthancode.com/robot-and-human-collaboration) * Where is human collaboration with robots heading? 06:59 - The Human/Robot Partnership * Robot Personification * Positives and Negatives * Robots Will Never Be Perfect * Making Our World “Robot Compatible” 14:34 - Human Behavior Towards Robots; Vice-Versa * HitchBOT, the hitchhiking robot, gets beheaded in Philadelphia (https://www.cnn.com/2015/08/03/us/hitchbot-robot-beheaded-philadelphia-feat/index.html) * Marty the grocery store robot is a glimpse into our hell-ish future (https://mashable.com/article/stop-and-shop-marty-robots/) * The robot waiters in this Japanese cafe are controlled by people with paralysis (https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/japanese-robot-cafe-dawn/) 20:38 - Robots as “Social Entities” * Safety Transcending Competition * Contextualization * Observable * Predictable * Directable 24:43 - How Media Affects The Way People View Robots * Science-Fiction Expectations 26:39 - How Humans Can “Update” Themselves: Experiencing Robotics * Direct Exposure 28:23 - Robots as “Social Entities” (Cont’d) * Vigilance Decrement (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigilance_(psychology)#:~:text=Vigilance%20decrement%20is%20defined%20as,detect%20a%20weak%20target%20signal.) * Communication Problems * Change Agent by Daniel Suarez (https://www.amazon.com/Change-Agent-Daniel-Suarez/dp/110198466X) * What Robots/Humans Will/Should? Expect From Eachother 39:52 - Will and, if so, when will autonomous cars become the standard? * Swiss Cheese Model (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_cheese_model) Reflections: John: What is the right level of empathy for social entities? Jamey: Being in the process of consciously creating new social norms and thinking more thoroughly about who you could be hurting with your actions. Push, the talking trash can, makes his final appearance after 19 years at Walt Disney World (https://attractionsmagazine.com/push-talking-trashcan-makes-final-appearance-19-years-walt-disney-world/) Casey: Treating certain social entities in different ways; i.e. a Roomba and a dishwasher. And, the way you have to think about who is outside autonomous cars: not just the passengers. Also, we should be on the lookout for robotaxis! Laura: Not wanting robots in the future to look too much like people. This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.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 (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Special Guest: Laura Major.
216: Robot and Human Collaboration with Julie Shah
02:21 - Julie’s Superpower: Working Really Hard and Maintaining Focused Attention on Things for a Long Period of Time 04:25 - Robotics and Working in Artificial Intelligence (AI) * What To Expect When You're Expecting Robots: The Future of Human-Robot Collaboration (https://www.amazon.com/What-Expect-Youre-Expecting-Robots/dp/1541699114) (Julie and Laura Major’s book) 11:10 - Structuring and Optimizing the World for Machines, AI, and Robots * The Turing Test (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test) * Labeled Data * Teslas vs Airplanes * Mode Confusion * Ten challenges for making automation a "team player" in joint human-agent activity (https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1363742) 26:10 - Understanding Output and Building Calibrated Trust * Mental Models 33:39 - Robots and Humans in Public Spaces * Predictability * Directability * Standardization * Infrastructure * Safety Imperatives * Future of Work Implications * Joint Activity * The Shannon Model (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon%E2%80%93Weaver_model) 51:41 - What To Expect When You're Expecting Robots: The Future of Human-Robot Collaboration (https://www.amazon.com/What-Expect-Youre-Expecting-Robots/dp/1541699114) (Book Discussion) 54:40 - More on Human/Machine Collaboration: * Girl Decoded: A Scientist's Quest to Reclaim Our Humanity by Bringing Emotional Intelligence to Technology (https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Decoded-Scientists-Intelligence-Technology-ebook/dp/B07VF1SKPV) * Reinforcement learning with human teachers: Evidence of feedback and guidance with implications for learning performance (https://www.cc.gatech.edu/~athomaz/papers/Sophie-Guidance.pdf) * Evaluating fluency in human–robot collaboration (https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8678448) Reflections: Rein: There may be a sense in which AI or ML systems are categorically different from the sorts of systems we’ve tried to control in the past because you can’t characterize the variety of the system anymore just by observing its inputs and outputs. Damien: Artificial intelligence is not human intelligence, nor should it be. The goals are making systems and human lives better; not making the computer better. Julie: Aim for mediocrity! This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.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 (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Special Guest: Julie Shah.
215: Gathering Data in Machine Learning with Abeba Birhane
01:41 - Descartes was wrong: ‘a person is a person through other persons’ (https://web.ics.purdue.edu/~drkelly/AeonMagBirhaneDescartesWasWrongPersonsAreSocial2017.pdf) * Abeba Birhane on a person is a person through other persons (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RVscNkiTq0) * Cartesian Thinking (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RVscNkiTq0) * Individualism (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RVscNkiTq0) 13:59 - Predicting How People Behave and Act via Machine Learning is Ethically Flawed * “Measuring” People * Simon’s Ant (https://medium.com/@seannewmanmaroni/simons-ant-2c7693335ff9) * Abstraction * Greater Than Code Episode 038: Category Theory for Normal Humans with Dr. Eugenia Cheng (https://www.greaterthancode.com/category-theory-for-normal-humans) * Order Out of Chaos by Ilya Prigogine and Isabelle Stengers (https://www.amazon.com/Order-Out-Chaos-Ilya-Prigogine/dp/0553343637) * Collecting Data * Confirmation Bias (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias) 34:21 - Examining Machine Learning Models and Data * Means Testing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Means_test) * Generalized Empathy “When you get rid of what you don’t want, you do not necessarily get what you do want and you may get something you want a lot less. It is that simple…..anyone that ever watches television knows that!” – Russell L. Ackoff (http://fearlessrevival.com/russell-ackoff/) “Scoring” People Perpetuates Stereotypes Acurracy Confirms Bias 50:09 - Important Ideosyncracies and Contaminating Factors * Seeing and appreciating the potential to be different in every person in every situation. * The ability to tease apart existing cultural ideas around identity and humanity. * Taking concepts from different but related fields and seeing their connectedness and bringing them together into a whole that is more than the sum of their parts. * Seeing consequences that don’t belong to any one cause. Reflections: Mando: Cartesian thinking and worldview is embedded in us. Avdi: “Contaminating factors.” “Dive into yourself to find yourself.” Rein: Jainism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism) has gotten this right for centuries. * The Elephant and the Blindfolded Men Parable * The Theory of Conditioned Predication or Contigency * The Theory of Partial Standpoints Jessica: Giving the Cartesian program credit for what it’s good for: using science as a way to break things down into parts and studying them deeply; we’ve learned a lot. Abeba: It’s not all bad. BUT, we forget to put the pieces back together and acknowledge reality. This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.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 (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well.) Special Guest: Abeba Birhane.
214: The Righteous Mind with Rylan Bowers
01:26 - Rylan’s Superpower: Helping People & Giving Back to Community * “The rising tide lifts all boats.” 03:01 - The Righteous Mind (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Righteous_Mind) / Making and Rationalizing Choices * Jonathan Haidt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Haidt) * Moral Psychology (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_psychology) * The Happiness Hypothesis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Happiness_Hypothesis) (The Elephant Metaphor) * Social Intuitionism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_intuitionism) 09:11 - An Example of a Moral Reaction (CW Beastiality) 10:26 - Humans as Individuals vs Humans as Species / Increasing Group-Level Cohesion * Homo Duplex (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_duplex#:~:text=Homo%20duplex%20is%20a%20view,other%20elements%20generated%20by%20society.) * Transactional Leadership vs Transformational Leadership (https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-management/chapter/types-of-leaders/#:~:text=Transactional%20leadership%20works%20within%20set,and%20is%20more%20future%2Doriented.&text=Transformational%20leadership%20focuses%20on%20motivating,a%20vision%20of%20the%20future.) * T-Groups: Resources for Interpersonal Skill Development (https://www.tgroups.org) 19:43 - Bridging the Gap Politically * Thinking Empathatically * “Addressing the Elephant” * CivilPolitics.org: Educating the Public on Evidence-based methods for improving inter-group civility * How One Man Convinced 200 Ku Klux Klan Members To Give Up Their Robes 27:59 - Looking at Morality * The WEIRD Culture (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology#WEIRD_bias) (western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic) * 5 Main Foundations * Care vs Harm * Fairness vs Reciprocity * Loyalty vs Betrayal * Authority vs Subversion * Purity/Sanctity vs Degradation * The Omnivore’s Dilemma (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Omnivore%27s_Dilemma) * Liberty vs Oppression * YourMorals.Org (https://www.yourmorals.org) 38:55 - Morality Binds and Blinds / Group Cohesion * Haidt: humans are 90 percent chimp and 10 percent bee (https://theindependentwhig.com/haidt-passages/haidt/haidt-humans-are-90-percent-chimp-and-10-percent-bee/) * Sanctitity * Religion for Atheists: A Non-believer's Guide to the Uses of Religion by Alain De Botton (https://www.amazon.com/Religion-Atheists-Non-believers-Guide-Uses/dp/0307476820) 48:37 - Moving Forward / Fixing Divisiveness / Welcoming People w/ Different Viewpoints * Yin and Yang (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang) * APA Convention Keynote 2016 ft. Jonathan Haidt (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAE-gxKs6gM) * Mani (prophet) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mani_(prophet)) / (Manichaeism) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manichaeism) * Anti-Intellectualism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-intellectualism_in_American_Life) Reflections: Damien: The Happiness Hypothesis (The Elephant Metaphor): Reflecting on the elephant. Rylan: Finding a middle ground. “The Perfect Way is only difficult for those who pick and choose; Do not like, do not dislike; all will then be clear. Make a hairbreadth difference, and Heaven and Earth are set apart; If you want the truth to stand clear before you, never be for or against. The struggle between 'for' and 'against' is the mind's worst disease.” ― Jianzhi Sengcan (https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1012788-the-perfect-way-is-only-difficult-for-those-who-pick) John: The value of conservative viewpoints vs liberal viewpoints. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath (https://www.amazon.com/Switch-Change-Things-When-Hard/dp/0385528752/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Switch%3A+How+to+Change+Things+When+Change+Is+Hard&qid=1607383928&sr=8-1) More Resources: The Ezra Klein Show (https://open.spotify.com/show/6NOJ6IkTb2GWMj1RpmtnxP) inter-group civility (http://www.civilpolitics.org) (Large potential list of remedies) Jonathan Haidt: The Coddling of the American Mind (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b3Ob4CK4Xs&fbclid=IwAR0JLkS8tMiGS_TZB86z9i9lpC8ImzKqeLTc0KiiN3krHGV4eDuLTvFd5-E) The Political Compass (https://www.politicalcompass.org/) Jonathan Haidt: The moral roots of liberals and conservatives (https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_the_moral_roots_of_liberals_and_conservatives) (TED Talk) This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.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 (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Special Guest: Rylan Bowers.
213: This Is Me with Cher
CONTENT WARNING: Eating Disorders, Substance Abuse & Addiction 01:12 - Cher’s Superpower: Making and Collecting Hot Sauce * Gastroparesis (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gastroparesis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355787#:~:text=Gastroparesis%20is%20a%20condition%20that,food%20through%20your%20digestive%20tract.) * Hobby vs Coping Mechanism 04:33 - Good Ideas Can Come From Anywhere * Drive to Execute * Becoming a Mentor/Leader * Curiosity and Understanding the Big Picture * Seeking Feedback From Others While Introspecting Feedback From Yourself 12:50 - Bravery, Enduring, and Overcoming; Eradicating Stigmas and Breaking Stereotypes * Impostor Syndrome (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome) * Blowing the Top Off Gatekeep-y Assumptions in Tech * Rawness and Integrity * Nader Dabit (https://twitter.com/dabit3) & Kurt Kemple (https://twitter.com/kurtkemple) * “You’re not alone,” “I’m not special,” and “You can get here too.” * Using Your Journey to Empower Yourself and Others * MARLON CRAFT | FUNK FLEX | #Freestyle140 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNPEEsEHepg) 30:12 - Struggle, Opportunity, and Recognizing White Privilege * Activating Empathy * Manifesting Goodness Reflections: John: The incredible power we can have as people when we claim our story rather than deny it. Rein: There is a huge potential for empathy between people with a lot in common, and it’s just about unlocking the potential that already exists. Cher: Empathy is the glue that holds everything together. Jerome: The skills transfer of experience. This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.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 (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Special Guest: Cher.
212: Diversify Tech with Veni Kunche
01:17 - Veni’s Superpower: Being Adaptable and Not Giving Up 02:25 - Going From Coder to Entrepreneur * Diversify Tech (https://diversifytech.co/) * Women Who Code (https://www.womenwhocode.com/) * Code With Veni Newsletter (https://www.codewithveni.com/) 07:00 - Being Protective and Selective of Company Partnerships * Vetting Companies * Glassdoor (https://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm) * Talking to Underrepresented Folx at Companies to Ask for Feedback 14:05 - Changes Veni Has Seen Over Time re: Hiring Around Diversity and Inclusion 15:38 - Things Hiring Managers Should and Should NOT Do When Hiring for Diversity * Look at Metrics * Rethink Job Description Requirements * Revisit Your Interview Process 19:13 - Entry-Level Support 21:50 - Upholding Integrity > Capitalism 25:48 - Revenue Transparency 32:13 - Finding Your Place in Tech and Serving Underrepresented People * Filtering Out Companies * Guidelines * Next Steps * Giving Company Feedback and Direction * Company Culture 51:29 - Being Vocal About Work Conditions; i.e.: “Whistleblowing” / Employee Dissent Reflections: John: The critical role that organizations like Diversify Tech have created by placing themselves in a trusted position between job seekers and companies to protect underrepresented minorities. Rein: All Veni’s work developing rubrics and intuitions about companies that are worth working for/with is extremely important and her sharing this expertise is very valuable. Veni: To learn more about how comfortable candidates/employees feel about talking about dissent within their organizations. This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.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 (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Special Guest: Veni Kunche.
211: Becoming Humble and Kind with Brandon Weaver
01:16 - Brandon’s Superpower: Recognizing Others’ Superpowers and Spotting Potential Talent * Convincing Others * Recognizing and Talking About Failure(s) 09:23 - Brandon’s Personal Journey & Transformation Towards Humility * Wanting To Be Heard * Placing Identity * Developing Empathy * Speaking Candidly Re: Growth * Talking About Negatives in Your Past 25:40 - The Importance of Community and Community Leaders * The Ruby Scholar and Guide Program (https://rubyconf.org/scholarships) * Michael Hartl’s Rails Tutorial (https://www.railstutorial.org/book) * The Beerware License (https://people.freebsd.org/~phk/) 34:35 - Being Kind vs Being Nice * Privilege 40:59 - Being Austistic and Being Visible * Tales of the Autistic Developer - The Mentor (https://dev.to/baweaver/tales-of-the-autistic-developer-the-mentor-5hi6) * Brandon’s illustrated conference talks with cartoon lemurs (https://twitter.com/keystonelemur/status/1291488545450926086) * “Looks like me” * Calling Out Hubris (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hubris) 52:32 - Tech Is Political Reflections: Jamey: When someone gives you feedback it’s because they trust you that you’re going to do something about yourself and do better. Brandon: Thinking about who is saying something. John: The power we can embrace by talking about our personal history. This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.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 (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Special Guest: Brandon Weaver.
210: Getting Sh*t Done with Harini Gokul
01:30 - Harini’s Superpower: Getting Sh*t Done 04:19 - Putting Technology to Use For Those Who Need it the Most * Co-Creation and Co-Shaping * Public & Private Partnerships * Breaking Barriers to Entry 14:04 - Crisis Management and Rethinking Blueprints * Life After COVID / Reframing Crisis As Opportunity * Creating Space / Amplifying Others * Leadership Perspective 39:45 - Duality: Humans As Interconnected Systems * Solidarity and Humanity * Facade Breaking * Rationality * Empathetic Leadership 48:16 - What do we do now (to get sh*t done)? * Storytelling * D&I (Diversity & Inclusion) * Futureproofing Education and Skilling Reflections: Amy: If we end up back where we were pre-pandemic, shame on us. Rein: To make changes effectively, we need to go to the people we’re trying to help and figure out from their perspective what they need. HindSight 28 on Change (https://humanisticsystems.com/2019/02/21/hindsight-28-on-change-is-out-now/) Arty: Getting shit done on the huge, grand, level of looking at the crisis we’re currently in and how to move forward to build the future we want as humans. Harini: The sense of urgency of highlighting the problem and how we need to come together to co-create systemic, sustainable solutions that set in place new fundamentals and new structures for the world that lies ahead. This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.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 (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Special Guest: Harini Gokul.
209: Self-Identity and Parenting in Tech with Mia Mollie De Búrca
01:25 - Mia’s Superpower: Adaptability * Applicable Skills to Basic Computer Programming * Parsing Information * Research 05:31 - Linguistics and Cultural Anthropology * Linguistic Relativism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity) (Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis) 08:36 - Parenting While Having a Career in Tech 09:42 - Objectivity and Truth in Software Development 11:04 - Tech Parenthood (Cont’d) * Maternity Leave and Returning to Work * Part-Time Flexibility * “Keep-in-Touch Days” * Returning to Work as an Individual Experience * Discrimination & Stigma * Multitasking Expectations For All * Geographic Differences * Company Culture 24:21 - Tenure in Tech, Job-Hopping, and Juggling Parenthood * Parenting in View During the New COVID/Remote Work Era “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." – Elizabeth Stone: teacher and author Psychological Safety (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_safety) and Privilege Living and Operating in Fear Code-Switching (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code-switching) Visibility of Parents 44:05 - Self-Identity in the Tech Industry * The Handbook of Return to Work (https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B017YMXHM4?tag=amz-mkt-chr-us-20&ascsubtag=1ba00-01000-s1060-mac00-other-smile-us000-pcomp-feature-scomp-wm-5&ref=aa_scomp) 55:36 - Diversity Hiring Reflections: Mia: Psychological safety and privilege. John: “Just because I’m psychologically safe doesn’t mean everybody else is.” Laurie: The dichotomy of Mia and Christina’s experiences of being parents in tech. Christina: It is possible to remain optimistic that Moms in the United States will get better. Rein: Comfort and guilt in diversity hiring. This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.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 (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Special Guest: Mia Mollie De Búrca.
208: Who Tells Your Story? with Janeen Uzzell
01:42 - Janeen’s Superpower: Storytelling * The Importance of Who Tells Your Story * Accountability * Generalizations Are Harmful * Responsibility 07:56 - The Wikimedia Foundation (https://wikimediafoundation.org/) * Trust and Safety Team * Thriving Movement 11:04 - Empowering Communities To Tell Their Stories * Citations * Edit-a-thons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edit-a-thon) 19:53 - Creating a Wikipedia Page 22:07 - Approaching and Engaging Youth 27:10 - Staying Connected As An Organization * Cultivating Great Leadership * Mentorship/Sponsorship * Finding Samuel Lowe: China, Jamaica, Harlem by Paula Williams Madison (https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Samuel-Lowe-Jamaica-Harlem/dp/0062331639) * Paula’s Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/findingsamlowe/?hl=en) * Dr. Imani's Instagram (Paula's Daughter) (https://www.instagram.com/doctor.imani/?hl=en) 34:56 - Remote Working and Fostering/Maintaining Community 39:11 - Encouraging and Influencing Participation 47:31 - Janeen’s Move From Working at General Electric (GE) to The Wikimedia Foundation Reflections: Chanté: Making differences one edit at a time. Jamey: The importance of mentorship as something that is empowering. Rein: When a small system interacts with a larger system, it’s hard to change the larger system without being changed yourself. Jessica: Greater Than Code as an open conversation. This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.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 (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Special Guest: Janeen Uzzell.
207: Investigation and Influence with Chelsea Troy
03:36 - Chelsea’s Superpower: Software Detective Work * Grant-funded Organizations * Context Loss * Forensic Software Analysis * Software (Initially) Never Works ‼️ 08:27 - Coding in Investigation Mode * Lucifer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucifer_(TV_series)) (TV Series) * Setting Up a Debugging Environment (Includes a Velociraptor Example!) 15:05 - Chelsea’s Techtivism Blog Series (https://chelseatroy.com/category/techtivism/): Engineers Considering the Actions and Impact of Their Work Systematically * Techtivism 1: Eyes on the Mountain (https://chelseatroy.com/2019/10/30/eyes-on-the-mountain/) * Techtivism 2: The Four Levers (https://chelseatroy.com/2020/08/24/techtivism-2-the-four-levers/) * Techtivism 3: Biding Time, Boycotts, and Beyond (https://chelseatroy.com/2020/09/23/techtivism-3-biding-time-boycotts-and-beyond/) 20:20 - The Power of Influence (See Techtivism 2 (https://chelseatroy.com/2020/08/24/techtivism-2-the-four-levers/)) * Patronage: buying from or donating to an organization * Patronage Advocacy: convincing others to buy from/donate to an organization * Talent: devoting time and energy to an organization * Talent Advocacy: convincing others to devote their time and energy to an organization 26:57 - Making a Connection Between Values and Your Work as an Engineer * Privilege * The Status Quo * Incumbency 37:08 - Individual vs Collective Action ”A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.” (https://quotationcelebration.wordpress.com/2017/02/20/a-man-convinced-against-his-will-is-of-the-same-opinion-still-unknown/#:~:text=In%20other%20words%2C%20the%20argument,being%20argued%20against%20is%20CONVINCED) Confrontation Avoidance Reflections: Amy: The ways people can be both confrontational and avoidant at the same time. Damien: How what we do impacts larger systems and how we can move entire societies. Chelsea: The degree to which our fallibility creates the positions we get to occupy and what that means about the grace that we need to have about the fallibility of other people. Jessica: Chelsea is awesome! This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.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 (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Special Guest: Chelsea Troy.
206: Conscious Teaching and Learning with Brian Hogan
02:11 - Brian’s Superpower: Being Able to Teach People Stuff * Guiding Learners Towards Outcomes and Success * Connecting with Students on a Deeper Level * Active Learning 13:15 - Building Relationships * Adults vs Kids * Tapping Into Individual Motivation 18:34 - Learning Useful, Real-World Material * Exercises For Programmers (https://www.amazon.com/Exercises-Programmers-Challenges-Develop-Coding/dp/1680501224) * Systems Thinking Speech by Dr. Russell Ackoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbLh7rZ3rhU) * Working Backwards: Identify Outcomes/Goals => Write/Build Content/Material * Docs Are (can be) Wrong! 31:39 - Constructive and Interactive Learning * Learning Happens Through Feedback and Practice * The Shannon Communication Model (https://helpfulprofessor.com/shannon-weaver-model/#:~:text=The%20Shannon%20and%20Weaver%20model%20is%20a%20linear%20model%20of,sending%20and%20receiving%20the%20message.) * Experiencing Joint Activity 37:12 - Conversation Theory (https://web.cortland.edu/andersmd/learning/Pask.htm) 43:27 - Teaching Vs Mentoring * Mentoring is a Deeper/Closer Relationship * Being Open to and Honoring Feedback * Teaching and Learning Are Activities, Not Roles Reflections: Jacob: There isn’t enough content that is in the category of, “Here’s a problem for you, go solve it,” to learn. Jamey: Identifying things (i.e. hobbies) that get other people excited and motivated to learn. Rein: Often the best way to learn something is to teach it, and often the best thing for a teacher to do is get out of the way and find ways to support the learners. Brian: The need for more complex problems to learn things. This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.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 (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Special Guest: Brian Hogan.
205: Breaking Silos and Creating Opportunity Via Remote Work with Amir Salihefendić
02:16 - Amir’s Superpower: Learning * The Value of Knowledge Work 05:42 - Growing Up As a Refugee * Maintaining Focus During Change 11:04 - A Founder’s Mindset * Trauma: Makes You Stronger * Shadow-Side Psyche (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_(psychology)) * Reboot by Jerry Colonna (https://www.rebootbyjerry.com/) (Book) * Reboot.io (https://www.reboot.io/) (CEO Coaching) 19:06 - Remote Work * Opportunities and Implications * Handling Skepticism * Impact on Local Community * Remote-First Companies * Salary Transparency * Hiring Based on Mission More Resources on Remote Work From Amir: * What Most Remote Companies Don’t Tell You About Remote Work (https://blog.doist.com/remote-work-mental-health/) * Why We Don’t Have an Exit Strategy (https://blog.doist.com/no-exit-strategy/) * Asynchronous Communication: The Real Reason Remote Workers Are More Productive (https://blog.doist.com/asynchronous-communication/) Reflections: John: The impact of having a globally high salary and what that positively enables. Astrid: Negative events can help to shape you into the person that you want to be. Amir: Using trauma to drive positivity. This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.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 (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Special Guest: Amir Salihefendić.
204: Creating Community Spaces in The Age of COVID with Nicole Archambault
02:04 - Nicole’s Superpower: Empathy and Community Building * “The After-Hours Vibe” Zoom Parties (DM Nicole on Twitter for an invite!) (https://twitter.com/lavie_encode) * Discord Servers (https://discord.com/) * freeCodeCamp (https://www.freecodecamp.org/) 15:06 - Overcoming Isolation and Forming Connections in the Age of COVID-19 * Masking (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masking_(personality)) * Vulnerability and Transparency 20:42 - Creating a Techincal Community * Human Resource Machine (https://tomorrowcorporation.com/humanresourcemachine) * #CodersTeach Twitter Chats (https://twitter.com/hashtag/CodersTeach) 25:54 - Radiating Love and Compassion and Learning How-To Human * Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha (https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Acceptance-Embracing-Heart-Buddha/dp/0553380990) * Making Meaningful Connections * Authenticity and Embracing Yourself Independently * Epigenetics (https://www.whatisepigenetics.com/fundamentals/#:~:text=Epigenetics%20is%20the%20study%20of,how%20cells%20read%20the%20genes.) 39:45 - Educational Tech Entrepreneurship (EdTech) * Non-Verbal Learning Disorders * Test-Driven Learning (http://users.csc.calpoly.edu/~djanzen/tdl/) * Programmatic Problem-Solving (https://www.lavieencode.net/courses/ncpss/) * Front End Happy Hour: Patron, Palomas, and Programmatic Problem Solving (featuring Nicole) (https://frontendhappyhour.com/episodes/patron-palomas-and-programmatic-problem-solving/) * Deliberate Learning * Exercism (https://exercism.io/) Reflections: Jacob: Meeting and socializing with other people outside of a professional sphere remotely since COVID. Arty: Leaning into being yourself. This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.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 (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Special Guest: Nicole Archambault.
203: Algorithmic Auditing and Accountability with Matthew Zhou
01:54 - Matt’s Superpower: Letting Things Go Easily * Nonattachment and Immigration 08:35 - Matt’s Journey From Anthropology to Tech * The Intersection of Technology and Social Science 13:42 - Algorithmic Auditing and Accountability * Internal vs External Audits * Identifying Affected Parties * Waze Hijacked L.A. in the Name of Convenience. Can Anyone Put the Genie Back in the Bottle? (https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/waze-los-angeles-neighborhoods/) * Participation in Machine Learning * People as Constituents – Not Resources 29:38 - Data Surveillance: Gathering Enough Data vs Gathering Too Much Data (and particularly the effect on Black and Brown people) * Data & Society – Ruha Benjamin presents Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code (https://datasociety.net/library/databite-no-124-ruha-benjamin/) * The Invisible Institute (https://invisible.institute/) 36:57 - Speaking Out Regarding Racial Equity/Inequity and Social Justice in the Workplace 42:26 - Getting Involved in Politics on a Personal Level in 2020 48:12 - Medical/Healthcare Informatics & Thinking About Health Disparities Reflections: Jacob: Who unintended, affected by our technologies communities and people are. Chanté: Diving deeper into algorithmic auditing as it pertains to ethics and what that means for organizations and leaders who hold power and influence. Matthew: Technology platforms are far-reaching and engineers and technologists are going to have to become more fluent social scientists. This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.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 (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Special Guest: Matthew Zhou.