Talking to an inanimate object like a rubber duck is a debugging technique called rubber duck debugging. The term was shaped in 1999 by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas - the authors of the book The Pragmatic Programmer.

Why some programmers talk to rubber ducks

Explaining a problem (it doesn't even have to be a bug in programming) helps to look at the problem from a different perspective. That helps to better understand what one is trying to accomplish and often the error is almost obvious while explaining it to someone else.

Why it works

A very simple but particularly useful technique for finding the cause of a problem is simply to explain it to someone else. The other person should look over your shoulder at the screen, and nod his or her head constantly (like a rubber duck bobbing up and down in a bathtub).

Rubber duck/Inanimate object:<ul><li>very patient listener</li><li>has infinite time </li><li>is always available</li><li>holds back on feedback </li></ul> Person/Colleague/Friend<ul><li>not always available</li><li>might not have time/patience to listen to the whole problem</li><li>might give advice if the problem does not want to solve itself</li></ul>

Rubber Duck vs. Person

When a bug gets you stuck, explain it to a rubber duck.

“One of the most significant books in my life.” –Obie Fernandez, Author, The Rails Way “Twenty years ago, the first edition of The Pragmatic Programmer completely changed the trajectory of my career. This new edition could do the same for yours.” –Mike Cohn, Author of Succeeding with Agile, Agile Estimating and Planning, and User Stories Applied “. . . filled with practical advice, both technical and professional, that will serve you and your projects well for years to come.” –Andrea Goulet, CEO, Corgibytes, Founder, LegacyCode.Rocks “. . . lightning does strike twice, and this book is proof.” –VM (Vicky) Brasseur, Director of Open Source Strategy, Juniper Networks The Pragmatic Programmer is one of those rare tech books you’ll read, re-read, and read again over the years. Whether you’re new to the field or an experienced practitioner, you’ll come away with fresh insights each and every time. Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt wrote the first edition of this influential book in 1999 to help their clients create better software and rediscover the joy of coding. These lessons have helped a generation of programmers examine the very essence of software development, independent of any particular language, framework, or methodology, and the Pragmatic philosophy has spawned hundreds of books, screencasts, and audio books, as well as thousands of careers and success stories. Now, twenty years later, this new edition re-examines what it means to be a modern programmer. Topics range from personal responsibility and career development to architectural techniques for keeping your code flexible and easy to adapt and reuse. Read this book, and you’ll learn how to: Fight software rot Learn continuously Avoid the trap of duplicating knowledge Write flexible, dynamic, and adaptable code Harness the power of basic tools Avoid programming by coincidence Learn real requirements Solve the underlying problems of concurrent code Guard against security vulnerabilities Build teams of Pragmatic Programmers Take responsibility for your work and career Test ruthlessly and effectively, including property-based testing Implement the Pragmatic Starter Kit Delight your users Written as a series of self-contained sections and filled with classic and fresh anecdotes, thoughtful examples, and interesting analogies, The Pragmatic Programmer illustrates the best approaches and major pitfalls of many different aspects of software development. Whether you’re a new coder, an experienced programmer, or a manager responsible for software projects, use these lessons daily, and you’ll quickly see improvements in personal productivity, accuracy, and job satisfaction. You’ll learn skills and develop habits and attitudes that form the foundation for long-term success in your career. You’ll become a Pragmatic Programmer. Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.

problemsolving

Problem Solving

computerscience

Computer Science

“One of the most significant books in my life.” –Obie Fernandez, Author, The Rails Way “Twenty years ago, the first edition of The Pragmatic Programmer completely changed the trajectory of my career. This new edition could do the same for yours.” –Mike Cohn, Author of Succeeding with Agile, Agile Estimating and Planning, and User Stories Applied “. . . filled with practical advice, both technical and professional, that will serve you and your projects well for years to come.” –Andrea Goulet, CEO, Corgibytes, Founder, LegacyCode.Rocks “. . . lightning does strike twice, and this book is proof.” –VM (Vicky) Brasseur, Director of Open Source Strategy, Juniper Networks The Pragmatic Programmer is one of those rare tech books you’ll read, re-read, and read again over the years. Whether you’re new to the field or an experienced practitioner, you’ll come away with fresh insights each and every time. Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt wrote the first edition of this influential book in 1999 to help their clients create better software and rediscover the joy of coding. These lessons have helped a generation of programmers examine the very essence of software development, independent of any particular language, framework, or methodology, and the Pragmatic philosophy has spawned hundreds of books, screencasts, and audio books, as well as thousands of careers and success stories. Now, twenty years later, this new edition re-examines what it means to be a modern programmer. Topics range from personal responsibility and career development to architectural techniques for keeping your code flexible and easy to adapt and reuse. Read this book, and you’ll learn how to: <ul> <li>Fight software rot</li> <li>Learn continuously</li> <li>Avoid the trap of duplicating knowledge</li> <li>Write flexible, dynamic, and adaptable code</li> <li>Harness the power of basic tools</li> <li>Avoid programming by coincidence</li> <li>Learn real requirements</li> <li>Solve the underlying problems of concurrent code</li> <li>Guard against security vulnerabilities</li> <li>Build teams of Pragmatic Programmers</li> <li>Take responsibility for your work and career</li> <li>Test ruthlessly and effectively, including property-based testing</li> <li>Implement the Pragmatic Starter Kit</li> <li>Delight your users</li> </ul>Written as a series of self-contained sections and filled with classic and fresh anecdotes, thoughtful examples, and interesting analogies, The Pragmatic Programmer illustrates the best approaches and major pitfalls of many different aspects of software development. Whether you’re a new coder, an experienced programmer, or a manager responsible for software projects, use these lessons daily, and you’ll quickly see improvements in personal productivity, accuracy, and job satisfaction. You’ll learn skills and develop habits and attitudes that form the foundation for long-term success in your career. You’ll become a Pragmatic Programmer. Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.

David Thomas is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. David Thomas has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. David Thomas's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

David Thomas

Andrew Hunt is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Andrew Hunt has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Andrew Hunt's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

Andrew Hunt

The Pragmatic Programmer

Notice emotions, thoughts, and other sensations (sounds, smells, temperature,... ) without judging them or pushing them away. Try to sense where and how you feel the emotions in your body.

Mindfulness

Breathing deeply in through the nose, into the belly and slowly out through the mouth is a very convenient and powerful tool for relaxing your mind and body. Doing this whenever I feel stressed really helps me.

Deep Belly Breathing

Being in nature can improve your mood. Just take a walk, or go for a bike ride, lay on the beach or in the park and notice little details that nature has. The sound of a bird, the texture of a leaf, the freshness of the air - notice these things and be grateful for the experience.

Appreciating Nature

Take a look at the boundaries in your life. You don't always have to do things for other people. Prioritize your own health, time and needs. Saying 'no' is often the healthy response when you know that what is requested or expected of you would stress you out or drain your energy.

Establishing Boundaries

Be spontaneous and do things just for fun not because of what you gain by doing that or because something is the rational thing to do. Try to sense what you really feel like doing in that moment and just do it.

Be like a child 

A healthy body allows the mind to be healthy. Exercise, eat nutritous foods and get enough sleep.

Treat your body well

Trauma often seems as this extreme experience that only people have to deal with that went through horrible events. However, there are more and less severe traumatic experiences. While it can be hard to acknowledge your own trauma it can be really helpful to understand why you mind is the way it is. It is important not to judge and rather witness the emotions that come up.

Understand your own trauma

Fear is supposed to prevent you from getting hurt but sometimes fear is irrational and not helpful. When you understand what you are afraid of and why your are afraid of it the fear is not needed anymore. This gives your mind the opportunity to heal.

Understand your fears

This book helped me understand my own emotions and helped me improve my mental and physical wellbeing. Here are some of the ideas that I found particularly important.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER · INSTANT INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER From Dr. Nicole LePera, creator of "the holistic psychologist"—the online phenomenon with more than two million Instagram followers—comes a revolutionary approach to healing that harnesses the power of the self to produce lasting change. As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Nicole LePera often found herself frustrated by the limitations of traditional psychotherapy. Wanting more for her patients—and for herself—she began a journey to develop a united philosophy of mental, physical and spiritual wellness that equips people with the interdisciplinary tools necessary to heal themselves. After experiencing the life-changing results herself, she began to share what she’d learned with others—and soon “The Holistic Psychologist” was born. Now, Dr. LePera is ready to share her much-requested protocol with the world. In How to Do the Work, she offers both a manifesto for SelfHealing as well as an essential guide to creating a more vibrant, authentic, and joyful life. Drawing on the latest research from a diversity of scientific fields and healing modalities, Dr. LePera helps us recognize how adverse experiences and trauma in childhood live with us, resulting in whole body dysfunction—activating harmful stress responses that keep us stuck engaging in patterns of codependency, emotional immaturity, and trauma bonds. Unless addressed, these self-sabotaging behaviors can quickly become cyclical, leaving people feeling unhappy, unfulfilled, and unwell. In How to Do the Work, Dr. LePera offers readers the support and tools that will allow them to break free from destructive behaviors to reclaim and recreate their lives. Nothing short of a paradigm shift, this is a celebration of empowerment that will forever change the way we approach mental wellness and self-care.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

mindfulness

health

Health

books

Books

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ·  INSTANT INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER From Dr. Nicole LePera, creator of "the holistic psychologist"—the online phenomenon with more than two million Instagram followers—comes a revolutionary approach to healing that harnesses the power of the self to produce lasting change. As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Nicole LePera often found herself frustrated by the limitations of traditional psychotherapy. Wanting more for her patients—and for herself—she began a journey to develop a united philosophy of mental, physical and spiritual wellness that equips people with the interdisciplinary tools necessary to heal themselves. After experiencing the life-changing results herself, she began to share what she’d learned with others—and soon “The Holistic Psychologist” was born.Now, Dr. LePera is ready to share her much-requested protocol with the world. In How to Do the Work, she offers both a manifesto for SelfHealing as well as an essential guide to creating a more vibrant, authentic, and joyful life. Drawing on the latest research from a diversity of scientific fields and healing modalities, Dr. LePera helps us recognize how adverse experiences and trauma in childhood live with us, resulting in whole body dysfunction—activating harmful stress responses that keep us stuck engaging in patterns of codependency, emotional immaturity, and trauma bonds. Unless addressed, these self-sabotaging behaviors can quickly become cyclical, leaving people feeling unhappy, unfulfilled, and unwell. In How to Do the Work, Dr. LePera offers readers the support and tools that will allow them to break free from destructive behaviors to reclaim and recreate their lives. Nothing short of a paradigm shift, this is a celebration of empowerment that will forever change the way we approach mental wellness and self-care.

Dr. Nicole LePera is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Dr. Nicole LePera has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Dr. Nicole LePera's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

Dr. Nicole LePera

How to Do the Work

Pain and pleasure are on a balance. Whenever we experience something that feels great (high dopamine level), the body will regulate itself leading to a slightly lower baseline of dopamine (i.e. less drive, joy, motivation, etc). Repeating this process without giving our body time to get back to "normal" baseline levels of dopamine can emotionally drain us and we feel depressed.

Relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain

Abstinence(e.g. a social media fast or quitting smoking or whatever you feel like you are consuming in too large quantities) resets the brain's reward pathway allowing you to enjoy the simple things in life (a beautiful day, a meaningful conversation, play time with your pet, ...).

Recovery begins with Abstinence

Activities that are exhausting, challenging, or painful like cold showers, confronting one's fears, or working out can increase your dopamine level after you did those activities. However, too much pain is not good either and pain can be addicting as well.

Pain can reset our balance to the side of pleasure

Being honest no matter the consequences improves relationships, awareness and allows us to be more authentic, spontaneous and feel more free in the moment.

The positive impact of radical honesty

Destructive shame means pushing someone away in response to uncovering their addictive behavior. This results in that person feeling isolated and more likely to lie about that behavior in the future leading to more isolation. This isolation will then lead to more overconsumption, thus, creating a destructive cycle. Prosocial shame means accepting someone's flaws without shunning them. It is based on the idea that everyone makes mistakes and people need to be forgiven. However, this does not mean encouraging addictive behavior

Prosocial Shame vs. Destructive Shame

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES and LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER “Brilliant… riveting, scary, cogent, and cleverly argued.”—Beth Macy, author of Dopesick As heard on Fresh Air This book is about pleasure. It’s also about pain. Most important, it’s about how to find the delicate balance between the two, and why now more than ever finding balance is essential. We’re living in a time of unprecedented access to high-reward, high-dopamine stimuli: drugs, food, news, gambling, shopping, gaming, texting, sexting, Facebooking, Instagramming, YouTubing, tweeting… The increased numbers, variety, and potency is staggering. The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation. As such we’ve all become vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption. In Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke, psychiatrist and author, explores the exciting new scientific discoveries that explain why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain…and what to do about it. Condensing complex neuroscience into easy-to-understand metaphors, Lembke illustrates how finding contentment and connectedness means keeping dopamine in check. The lived experiences of her patients are the gripping fabric of her narrative. Their riveting stories of suffering and redemption give us all hope for managing our consumption and transforming our lives. In essence, Dopamine Nation shows that the secret to finding balance is combining the science of desire with the wisdom of recovery.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES and LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER “Brilliant . . . riveting, scary, cogent, and cleverly argued.”—Beth Macy, author of Dopesick, as heard on Fresh Air This book is about pleasure. It’s also about pain. Most important, it’s about how to find the delicate balance between the two, and why now more than ever finding balance is essential. We’re living in a time of unprecedented access to high-reward, high-dopamine stimuli: drugs, food, news, gambling, shopping, gaming, texting, sexting, Facebooking, Instagramming, YouTubing, tweeting . . . The increased numbers, variety, and potency is staggering. The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation. As such we’ve all become vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption.   In Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke, psychiatrist and author, explores the exciting new scientific discoveries that explain why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain . . . and what to do about it. Condensing complex neuroscience into easy-to-understand metaphors, Lembke illustrates how finding contentment and connectedness means keeping dopamine in check. The lived experiences of her patients are the gripping fabric of her narrative. Their riveting stories of suffering and redemption give us all hope for managing our consumption and transforming our lives. In essence, Dopamine Nation shows that the secret to finding balance is combining the science of desire with the wisdom of recovery.

Dr. Anna Lembke is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Dr. Anna Lembke has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Dr. Anna Lembke's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

Dr. Anna Lembke

Dopamine Nation

No matter how hard the challenges are that you have to face, there are always little things in life that you can appreciate and that make life worth living.

It is all about Perspective

It is tragic and scary how much hate humans are capable of. We must speak up and take action when others are persecuted, discriminated, or bullied in any type of way.

Hate can not be tolerated

When writing her diary, Anne did not know how many people would end up reading her book. She showed that is possible to make an impact on others and on the future no matter the circumstances.

Every one can make an impact

I love this book. It is fascinating to get insight to such a beautiful mind and there are some ideas that I want to remember personally.

The classic text of the diary Anne Frank kept during the two years she and her family hid from the Nazis in an Amsterdam attic is a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.

For almost fifty years, Anne Frank's diary has moved millions with its testament to the human spirit's indestructibility, but readers have never seen the full text of this beloved book--until now. This new translation, performed by Winona Ryder, restores nearly one third of Anne's entries excised by her father in previous editions, revealing her burgeoning sexuality, her stormy relationship with her mother, and more.

Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank was a Jewish girl born in the city of Frankfurt, Germany. Her father moved to the Netherlands in 1933 and the rest of the family followed later. Anne was the last of the family to come to the Netherlands, in February 1934. She wrote a diary while in hiding with her family and four friends in Amsterdam during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.She lived in Amsterdam with her parents and sister. During the Holocaust, Anne and her family hid in the attic of her father's office to escape the Nazis.

The Pragmatic Programmer

How to Do the Work

Dopamine Nation

Anne Frank

Markus Knitt