I'm only part way through the presentation, but I loved this line.
"And when people succumb to this instinct they tell themselves that they’re giving developers freedom. And sure, it is freedom, but it's a very narrow definition of what freedom is."
Yup. You get the freedom to choose a language and/or database with unknowns but you lose the freedom to leave work at a reasonable hour to see your family, pursue a hobby, or just veg out. Experimenting with new (to your organization) languages and infrastructure pieces is something you do between projects, not during.
It reminds me of something a jazz musician said in an interview, "The audience doesn't pay to see you rehearse. Rehearsal is done on your own time away from audiences." Rehearsals are where you try new techniques, harmonies, instruments, etc.
I'm uncomfortable with this rehearsal analogy. I'd rather have a company pay me to learn new things than spend my free time coding when I could be seeing my family, pursuing a hobby, or vegging out. From my employer's perspective, I agree that boring is usually better, but as an individual, I'd rather learn on the job than having to feel the need to "rehearse" for my job.
I didn't mean no learning on the job. The time to learn is between projects. If your employer keeps people on projects constantly, then learning happens between tasks.
"And when people succumb to this instinct they tell themselves that they’re giving developers freedom. And sure, it is freedom, but it's a very narrow definition of what freedom is."
Yup. You get the freedom to choose a language and/or database with unknowns but you lose the freedom to leave work at a reasonable hour to see your family, pursue a hobby, or just veg out. Experimenting with new (to your organization) languages and infrastructure pieces is something you do between projects, not during.
It reminds me of something a jazz musician said in an interview, "The audience doesn't pay to see you rehearse. Rehearsal is done on your own time away from audiences." Rehearsals are where you try new techniques, harmonies, instruments, etc.