5 ms·
I would say: Writing is a test. It tests if you understand the subject well enough, and the "other person" well enough, to communicate it to that other person.
by quickthrower2 4y ago
I would say: Writing is a test. It tests if you understand the subject well enough, and the "other person" well enough, to communicate it to that other person. Most likely you don't so then you need to think and/or learn more so that you can redraft it so it works. Write something technical and it reveals how little you know!
---
It is a trope but it works: Write your problem to the most senior developer in an email/slack but don't press send. Then there is a probably 50% chance you will solve it, or reduce the scope of the problem to {more focuesed question} that you can ask about.
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 4y ago> Write your problem to the most senior developer in an email/slack but don't press send. Or conversely, write it to the most junior person. Sometimes having to explain context also helps.
- wrp 4y agoI agree with this. It's not infrequently that I feel I have a clear idea of something, only to try writing it out and discover that I don't. Most of us here have heard the story about Feynman, when he decided that if he couldn't explain a concept clearly enough for undergrads, it meant that he didn't really understand it himself.
- euroderf 4y agoAgreed! Start the solution by starting to write that email. Anticipate the recipient's questions and objections, and disarm them by answering the points raised. Repeat this process as long as is necessary. Watch the solution magically take shape right before your eyes.
- wrp 4y ago> Write your problem to the most senior developer in an email/slack but don't press send... Reminds me of the scene in Galaxy Quest (1999), when the Thermian engineer asks "Tech Sergeant Chen" about a technical problem and he leads the alien into realizing the answer himself.
- hbrn 4y ago> It tests if you understand the subject well enough, and the "other person" well enough, to communicate it to that other person Interestingly, writing code not different in that regard. Too many developers think that it's enough to understand the subject. But the hardest part is often communicating the subject to other people through code. And yeah, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging is a thing.