Many years ago, we had a sign for who broke the last build. It was the earliest days of accountability, code reviews, and unit tests. Did you break it? Fix it. Did you break it? Your code must be running well. It was the earliest form of accountability in software development. As we progressed into the hype of the startup world, it also became a badge of honour that you were pushing the envelope, trying…
The worst thing you can do these days is ask for the answer. Not having asked ChatGPT. Not having followed up with Claude. Not reading one or two of the denizens of blogs out there on the subject you’re looking for. If you’re not coming to the table with the formulation of an answer, an idea of what could or could not be, or even a suggestion on what’s next. You’re not looking for the…
The best way to figure out how things work is to take it apart and see. Now, if it’s a $10,000 engine, you might want to start with a lawnmower (apply common sense). But the best way to see how code runs, to see how art is created, to see what it takes to finish a book… Has always been to take it apart and do it.
Want to know the answer to the problem you’ve been stumped on? Just try. Anything. Something. Try to see what works and what doesn’t. And then you’ll know the answer. Yes, AI can do it faster, but that’s not going to help you when you need to know. You tell your kids to try, so maybe follow that advice. Every problem with the unknown has always been figured out by trying, not watching.
I worked on an app one time called “Ignite”. I never truly got it; I thought it was too much at the time. But now I get where we were headed and what the plan was. And now is definitely the time to Ignite whatever you got in your back pocket.