The Dr. Seuss Guide to Code Craftsmanship

I have a two-year-old daughter who adores Dr. Seuss. And as I was reading Cat in the Hat for the 214th time, I realized Dr. Seuss had it all figured out.

His words are odd. The cadence confusing. But there’s a gem hidden in all his children’s rhymes.

You see, Dr. Seuss would have made an excellent engineer.
Because great code isn’t about choosing the perfect method name or building out 95% test coverage. All that is great, but it doesn’t make great code.

YOU DO.

It likely never feels that way. There’s a rhythm to software development that goes something like this:

1. “Easy. I’ve got this.”
2. “Uhhh, maybe not.”
3. “HALP! I have no idea what the f*ck I’m doing.”
4. “How did I not think of that before?!”
5. “I AM A GOD.”

This process is okay if you’re comfortable having a mild psychotic break every sprint. I’m not.

We’re going about it all wrong. Putting ourselves — our egos — above our code. No judgement. I do it too. We’re human. It’s okay.

But I think we can bypass our egos and the emotional ups and downs it produces. This talk will focus on common pitfalls along the development lifecycle and distill Dr. Seuss’s excellent advice into concise steps developers can take before they write a single line of code.

In the words of Dr. Seuss: "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

Transcript

1. Dr. Seuss Guide to Code Craftsmanship Emily Freeman // @editingemily
2. @editingemily What I know Emily Freeman Developer Advocate @
3. daughter Emily Freeman // @editingemily
4. You do. Emily Freeman // @editingemily
5. 1. Easy. I’ve got this. Emily Freeman // @editingemily
6. 1. Easy. I’ve got this. 2. Uhh, maybe not. Emily Freeman // @editingemily
7. 1. Easy. I’ve got this. 2. Uhh, maybe not. 3. HALP! Emily Freeman // @editingemily
8. 1. Easy. I’ve got this. 2. Uhh, maybe not. 3. HALP! 4. How did I not think of that?! Emily Freeman // @editingemily
9. 1. Easy. I’ve got this. 2. Uhh, maybe not. 3. HALP! 4. How did I not think of that?! 5. I AM A GOD. Emily Freeman // @editingemily
10. Emily Freeman // @editingemily
11. ego > code Emily Freeman // @editingemily
12. My life is a lie. Emily Freeman // @editingemily
13. What I know What I think others know Imposter Syndrome Emily Freeman // @editingemily
14. What I know Reality What others actually know Emily Freeman // @editingemily
15. #fraud Emily Freeman // @editingemily
16. Emily Freeman // @editingemily
17. Emily Freeman // @editingemily
18. Emily Freeman // @editingemily
19. “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Emily Freeman // @editingemily
20. Emily Freeman // @editingemily
21. The feels. Emily Freeman // @editingemily
22. Humans are flawed. Emily Freeman // @editingemily
23. Emily Freeman // @editingemily
24. Emily Freeman // @editingemily
25. Emily Freeman // @editingemily
26. Dr. Seuss Theodor S. Geisel Emily Freeman // @editingemily
27. Dr. Seuss Theodor S. Geisel Emily Freeman // @editingemily
28. Find a mentor. “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
29. Find a mentor. “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
30. Find a mentor. “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
31. Be you. “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
32. Stay curious. “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
33. Stay curious. “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
34. Keep learning. “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
35. Take (small) risks. “If you never did you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
36. Publicize failure. “Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
37. Celebrate. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
38. Keep going. “And will you succeed? Yes you will indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
39. Pace yourself. “Step with care and great tact, and remember that life’s a great balancing act.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
40. Pace yourself. “Step with care and great tact, and remember that life’s a great balancing act.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
41. Don’t be an asshole. “A person's a person, no matter how small.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
42. Embrace your humanity. “Think and wonder, wonder and think.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
43. Value old friends. “You’re in pretty good shape for the shape you are in.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
44. Make new friends. “Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
45. Embrace the suck. “Everything stinks till it’s finished.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
46. Quit comparing. “I'm afraid that sometimes you'll play lonely games too. Games you can't win 'cause you'll play against you.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
47. Quit comparing. “I'm afraid that sometimes you'll play lonely games too. Games you can't win 'cause you'll play against you.” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
48. Life is short. “How did it get so late so soon?” — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
49. You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go. — Dr. Seuss Emily Freeman // @editingemily
50. What I know Emily Freeman @editingemily // kickbox.io