Loosely Held Strong Convictions

Presented at Pragma 2015: http://pragmaconference.com

Atom Logo: http://atom.io
Grain Silo: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Ralls_Texas_Grain_Silos_2010.jpg
Nuclear Silo: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Nuclear_Missile_Silo_(7332367192).jpg
NYT Quiz: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/03/upshot/a-quick-puzzle-to-test-your-problem-solving.html
Flag Comic: http://extrafabulouscomics.com/comic/200/
Neil Gaiman Comic: http://xkcd.com/52/
Explosion clipart: http://www.clker.com/clipart-explosion-2.html

Transcript

1. Ash Furrow, Artsy
   Loosely Held
   Strong Convictions
   

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2. A massive explosion…
   

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3. –Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson
   “We are all connected;
   To each other, biologically.
   To the earth, chemically.
   To the rest of the universe atomically.”
   

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4. Strong convictions,
   Loosely held
   

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5. Agenda
   • We jump to conclusions
   • We silo ourselves
   • We dismiss each other
   • We demand justification
   

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6. Okay
   It’s going to be
   

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7. I have an idea for a game…
   This is actually a fun talk!
   

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10. Dreyfus model of
    Skill Acquisition
    

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11. Five Stages
    • Novice
    • Advanced Beginner
    • Competent
    • Proficient
    • Expert
    

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12. Crave
    As beginners, we
    Rules
    

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13. But there are no rules
    

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14. Expertise is just
    Opinion
    Informed
    

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15. Silos seem friendly…
    

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22. Why?
    

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23. I dunno, evolution I guess
    

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24. Oh, and society
    

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25. Freud called this
    “der Narzißmus der kleinen Differenzen”
    

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26. small
    differences
    The narcissism of
    

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29. Unimaginable
    

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30. Unknowable
    

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31. Context
    All decisions come from a
    

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32. Amazing
    People are
    

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33. Scale
    Our brains can’t handle our
    

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35. Tell me,
    what’s your
    favourite colour?”
    
    “
    

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36. #398CCC
    

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37. Why?
    

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38. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
    I just like it
    

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39. Tell me,
    what’s your favourite
    programming language?”
    
    “
    

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40. Swift
    

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41. Why?
    

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42. ಠ_ಠ
    

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43. We demand justification for
    personal preferences
    

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44. Of each other,
    and of ourselves
    

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45. change
    It’s ok to
    your mind
    

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48. —Ash Furrow
    “When my feelings change, I change my mind.
    What do you do?”
    

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49. Wrap Up
    • We can appreciate others’ ideas
    • We have more in common than not
    • We are extraordinarily complex, incredible, miraculous creatures
    • We can go easy on ourselves, and on others
    

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50. We are born in stars…
    Let’s act like it.
    

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