Programming is Boring

A short talk about how programming is boring, but boredom is necessary for growth. First given at @wafflejs on August 3rd, 2016 in San Francisco, CA

Transcript

1. (but you know, only sometimes)
   @wafflejs 3 August 2016
   programming is boring
   

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2. hey there
   I’m @duretti!
   !
   

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3. I’m here to tell
   you a secret
   

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4. View Slide

5. PROGRAMMING
   IS BORING
   

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6. when we talk to each
   other, it’s usually
   about the cool stuff
   

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7. View Slide

8. we don’t talk
   about the real-real
   

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9. perception
   

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10. reality
    

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11. PROGRAMMING
    IS BORING
    

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12. a list of boring
    things I’ve done
    

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13. a list of boring
    things I’ve done
    [non exahustive]
    

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14. html email, just like,
    generally "
    

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15. html email, just like,
    generally "
    

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16. fixing tests #
    

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17. manual copypasta of
    text out of a
    spreadsheet and into
    templates $
    

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18. adding tracking
    code, to anything
    

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19. that’s not to say
    programming
    is all bad
    

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20. handy formula for
    non-boredom
    

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21. #engagement
    frustration +
    googling =
    

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22. a couple
    of tips, tho
    

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23. getting right with
    frustration and
    boredom is hugely
    important
    

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24. when bored, it’s
    easy to be lazy
    

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26. boredom is the
    price of
    improvement
    

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27. A life too full of excitement is an exhausting life, in
    which continually stronger stimuli are needed to give
    the thrill that has come to be thought an essential part
    of pleasure. A person accustomed to too much
    excitement is like a person with a morbid craving for
    pepper, who comes last to be unable even to taste a
    quantity of pepper which would cause anyone else to
    choke.
    —Bertrand Russell
    

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28. many parts of
    life are
    surprisingly boring
    

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29. “It's hard having kids,
    to sit there
    That really is the hardest part of having kids.
    because it's boring.
    uh,
    Ask any parent. ‘What’s the hard part? Is it looking after
    their healthcare? Is it making sure that their education—’
    No, it's just being with them on the floor while they be
    children. It's just they read Clifford the Big Red Dog
    to you
    and be horribly proud and bored at the
    at a rate of fifty minutes a page, and you have
    same time.”
    —Louie C.K.
    

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30. fighting through
    frustration is an
    expression of grit
    

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31. grit is incredibly
    important in terms
    of achieving goals
    

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32. people with grit
    are stubborn af
    

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33. time 4 real talk
    

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34. to last in this
    industry,
    you need grit
    

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35. but also…
    

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36. automation is
    your friend
    

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37. tl; dr
    

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38. programming
    is boring
    

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39. tell your friends
    

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40. boredom is
    important for
    growth
    

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41. fight frustration,
    be tenacious
    

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42. thanks for listening
    % @duretti
    

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