
Intro to Empirical Software Engineering: What We Know We Don't Know - undreren
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WELBnE33dpY
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undreren
I thought this was a very thought provoking talk, even if we talk nothing the
speaker says for granted.

A year or so ago I had a semi-breakdown over the fact that all the best
practices I stood by was more or less just a regurgitation of what some
software "guru" had to say on the subject. I didn't _know_ if it was true, but
I damn sure _believed_ it.

I believed so hard that my opinions and feelings was almost (if not entirely)
_religious_ in nature. Sure, I had some experiences with things that
absolutely did not work, some techniques that worked _under the specific
circumstances_ I applied them in.

But in general? After 10 years of software development, I can't tell you _why_
I solve a specific kind of coding problem the way I do. I can give you a lot
of reasons, but only based on vague hand-wavey stuff such as feelings and
experience.

Don't get me wrong; experience is really great. But it's not the same as
_truth_. What works for me might not work for you, and vice versa. And what I
_believe_ works for me might in fact slow me down.

And there's no real way for me to know for sure.

