Ciao!
Have you ever smoked a cigar?
Not many people know but I'm a certified cigar catador, which is a fancy way of saying cigar sommelier. The course covered cigars from all possible perspectives, including history, geography, cultivation, among others.
But the biggest takeaway for me was the importance of paying respect. Smoking a cigar is like being whispered a once-in-a-lifetime story.
You know, a cigar is the combination of several variables that contribute to a unique experience. I can guarantee two of the "same" cigar would gift you two different stories.
For this reason, a catador never smashes out their cigar in the ashtray, they let it diffuse out of respect.
Problems are like cigars to me and as such they deserve respect. I spend time on the whiteboard exploring them, I get to know their nuances, and only then I design a solution (still on a whiteboard).
A few years ago I got tasked with the most complex feature of my career. The only way I found to pay my respect to such a problem was to come up with a new tool, the shake list.
How to Tame Complexity Into Simplicity with a Shake List
Elsewhere on the Web
Inventing on Principle - This is one of my favorite talks about programming. Bret Victor is a visionary and you should watch this talk.
The Future of Programming - I would make you a disservice if I didn't link the other one by Bret. This talk is from 1973, or is it?
How to Find the Mentor You Need - Here are five things you can do in the next week to open yourself up to finding the mentor or mentors of your dreams.
I experimented with the blog post this week, I've never published anything of that length. What are your impressions? What could I do better? Hit reply and let me know, I'd appreciate your feedback.
By the way, today's my birthday. I'll go and celebrate with one of my fav Polish dishes. I wish you a great day too!
Thanks for spending some time reading with me. Talk to you soon.
Yours truly,
Riccardo.