zelark/lessons-learned.md

## lessons-learned.md

      
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              lessons-learned.md
            
          
    Lessons learned; The nice and accurate counsel of Alex Miller, programmer

TL:DR


Be intentional
Stay connected to the problem
Use tables to explore alternatives
Make a picture

1. Read the docs!

The Miller Principle
2. Use backups!

About SICP: I just remember the first two weeks I was like I didn't know what programming was and this is actually real programming.
3. Code review works

I read a lot of other people's code. It's great practice.
4. Be sufficiently afraid of cleverness

5. Find the rhythm

;; nose to the grindstone — держать нос по ветру
6. Humans are messy

7. Don't read the comments (but if you do...)

8. You don't have to repsond (but if you do...)

9. Respond with facts, keep people out of it

Stewardship Made Practical W/ Stuart Halloway
10. No is temporary yes is forever

Maybe Not - Rich Hickey
;; Detour (spec 2)
11. Be intentional and write it down

If you're doing something that doesn't make sense, the wrong thing, then it doesn't matter how well you're doing it. It's going to be waste.
Clojure: Rationale
12. Stay connected to the problem

13. Enumerate alternatives and tradeoffs (make tables)

14. Doing Nothing is an option

15. Take things apart

16. “Lateral thinking with withered technology” — Gunpei Yokoi, Nintendo

Don't use the latest technology, use the really dumb, obvious technology, that is super cheap, very well established, then think of ways combine things in new novel ways. This is one way that creativity happens: combining things that haven't been combined before. A lot of creative things come out of that.
17. One picture

18. The hard stuff the stuff worth doing