Category Archives: Working

“I, Genius,” by Abstruse Goose

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Conrad Halling

“I, Genius,” by Abstruse Goose, shows what it takes to be a genius. In Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell writes that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill. Geniuses practice harder than most.

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Do Developers (and Data Analysts) Need a Second Monitor?

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Conrad Halling

On Datamation yesterday, Eric Spiegel asked, “Do Developers Really Need A Second Monitor?” The discussion rages on at Slashdot. There is no such thing as too much desktop, as far as I’m concerned. In my experience, all software developers can increase … Continue reading →

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Advice for Job Hunters

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Conrad Halling

wickline, who is leaving her or his current job, provides good advice today at blogs.perl.org about how to organize a job search. I have one piece of advice (based on a recent experience while reading résumés) for Perl developers who are looking … Continue reading →

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Achieving Mastery

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Conrad Halling

In a massive and deeply thoughtful essay, Bosco Ho writes about how connecting deliberative practice, neural plasticity, individual strengths, and the “joyful connection of flow” into a  loop can lead to achieving mastery over an activity. Highly recommended.  

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No One Is Good at Multitasking

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Conrad Halling

Multitasking is a topic that is popping up on the blogs I read. Recent studies are demonstrating that no one is good at multitasking—especially the people who think they are good at multitasking. (I know that I’m not.) On Wednesday, … Continue reading →

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Lack of Sleep Makes Us Stupid

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Conrad Halling

This weekend’s New York Times Magazine contains an eye-opening article by Maggie Jones, “How Little Sleep Can You Get Away With?” A quick summary of the results: Eight hours of sleep each night for two weeks: No cognitive impairment. Six hours … Continue reading →

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A Maker’s Lament

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Conrad Halling

I spend a lot of time trying to figure out why I’m more productive when I work at home than when I’m at work. Paul Graham has an answer, which he describes in a post from 2009, “Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s … Continue reading →

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