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This is a list of five cognitive biases that one could go research a lot deeper. On its own, the post doesn't offer much actionable advice on how to use or avoi

This is a list of five cognitive biases that one could go research a lot deeper. On its own, the post doesn't offer much actionable advice on how to use or avoid these day to day. They even conflict in nonobvious ways. For example, I use the arrow keys in VIM rather than learning more efficient, more efficient navigation. You could call that hyperbolic discounting, but I consider it avoiding premature optimization (I don't use VIM often). Getting caught up in cognitive biases is itself an example of a problem that interferes with our productivity. It doesn't strike me as a useful view of the big picture, other than the realization that perhaps software engineering is all about balancing these sorts of conflicting factors. E.g., know when to experiment, quick and dirty, and now when to go deep in refactoring.

mediocrejoker 9y ago
Just to play devil's advocate: maybe you would use vim more frequently if you were more efficient and thus more productive with it?
- the_af 9y ago
  To be honest, I found this to be an unfortunate example, especially when mentioned in the same paragraph as writing tests. Knowing all the shortcuts in VIM -- in fact, using VIM at all -- has very little impact in software productivity and quality. Remember, how efficiently a single programmer types matters very little, because that's not where most time in software development is spent, or where most problems arise, for that matter.
  - c22 9y ago
    Learning vim commands won't increase how fast you type, it will increase how fast you edit.
    - the_af 9y ago
      Again, does it matter how fast you edit when compared to spotting what to edit, which change to make, and how to explain it to your teammates? I think it matters very little. Obviously, if you're so slow you it drives your teammates crazy then it becomes a problem, but really, I don't think the difference lies in learning VIM's shortcuts.
  - thesz 9y ago
    But it does matter how efficiently he navigates. And this where vim can shine. Although I prefer structuring the program, not using structured editor.

mediocrejoker 9y ago

Just to play devil's advocate: maybe you would use vim more frequently if you were more efficient and thus more productive with it?

the_af 9y ago
To be honest, I found this to be an unfortunate example, especially when mentioned in the same paragraph as writing tests. Knowing all the shortcuts in VIM -- in fact, using VIM at all -- has very little impact in software productivity and quality. Remember, how efficiently a single programmer types matters very little, because that's not where most time in software development is spent, or where most problems arise, for that matter.
- c22 9y ago
  Learning vim commands won't increase how fast you type, it will increase how fast you edit.
  - the_af 9y ago
    Again, does it matter how fast you edit when compared to spotting what to edit, which change to make, and how to explain it to your teammates? I think it matters very little. Obviously, if you're so slow you it drives your teammates crazy then it becomes a problem, but really, I don't think the difference lies in learning VIM's shortcuts.
- thesz 9y ago
  But it does matter how efficiently he navigates. And this where vim can shine. Although I prefer structuring the program, not using structured editor.