6 ms·

I hate dealing with people that can't talk things over or explain things without drawing on whiteboards. I would like to remove the whiteboard from my office.

I hate dealing with people that can't talk things over or explain things without drawing on whiteboards. I would like to remove the whiteboard from my office. Doesn't anybody else just think things through in English?

psadauskas 17y ago
I "think" in diagrams, I use the whiteboard behind my desk to explain things to myself.
elblanco 17y ago
Try thinking a half million lines of C++ code into an existing enterprise architecture with a staff who's native language is not English in English without drawing a picture.
chronomex 17y ago
I agree with you. I've never really managed to use whiteboards effectively, and people who jump up to the whiteboard at every hint of trouble eventually get on my nerves.
shaunxcode 17y ago
It does not bother me any more than someone who is particularly animated with their body gestures or language when communicating an idea. Beside that having ideas written out in a shared space can be very useful when you are collaborating on a large project with many facets.
hackerblues 17y ago
The main benefit I find from having something to draw on is the ability to talk about multiple things without blowing their/my working memory. Seven chunks gets used up pretty damn quick when you need to consider both the parts and the interactions.
dagw 17y ago
I find spoken English (or any other language) remarkably ineffective when it comes to reasoning about more abstract concepts. Many of these concepts are much easier to describe and reason around in some sort of diagram and symbol shorthand. Even when just thinking to myself I often use a lot of internal visual representations of the concepts I'm thinking about. Also leaving a visual trail of the development of your thoughts make it easier for others (and you) to follow and gives you something to refer back, rather than trying to remember a long chain of complicated arguments. Personally I like using a whiteboard even when just reasoning out things for myself.

psadauskas 17y ago

I "think" in diagrams, I use the whiteboard behind my desk to explain things to myself.

elblanco 17y ago

Try thinking a half million lines of C++ code into an existing enterprise architecture with a staff who's native language is not English in English without drawing a picture.

chronomex 17y ago

I agree with you. I've never really managed to use whiteboards effectively, and people who jump up to the whiteboard at every hint of trouble eventually get on my nerves.

shaunxcode 17y ago

It does not bother me any more than someone who is particularly animated with their body gestures or language when communicating an idea. Beside that having ideas written out in a shared space can be very useful when you are collaborating on a large project with many facets.

hackerblues 17y ago

The main benefit I find from having something to draw on is the ability to talk about multiple things without blowing their/my working memory. Seven chunks gets used up pretty damn quick when you need to consider both the parts and the interactions.

dagw 17y ago

I find spoken English (or any other language) remarkably ineffective when it comes to reasoning about more abstract concepts. Many of these concepts are much easier to describe and reason around in some sort of diagram and symbol shorthand. Even when just thinking to myself I often use a lot of internal visual representations of the concepts I'm thinking about. Also leaving a visual trail of the development of your thoughts make it easier for others (and you) to follow and gives you something to refer back, rather than trying to remember a long chain of complicated arguments. Personally I like using a whiteboard even when just reasoning out things for myself.