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How to Think Like a Detective

psyche.co

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Re: How to Think Like a Detective

#11

Post by jacquesm »

version_five wrote: post #10
jacquesm wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first three have solved just about every problem that I've ever encountered in software, even in systems that I had absolutely no clue about (which made the first two quite natural ;) ). Debugging and troubleshooting isn't art or magic, it's just being very boringly methodical and building from the ground up. A single assumption and you're off to a dead end, a single thing taken on hearsay and you will repeat wha…

Agreed. At the bottom of any long-to-debug issue I've encountered is some assumption I absolutely knew to be beyond suspicion that turned out to be wrong. (That said, it's easy to say in retrospect. In the moment there is always judgement about what to verify first, and of course its always the last thing you check that turns out to be the problem)

This is the harsh thing about computers: they mercilessly point out your character flaws.

Re: How to Think Like a Detective

#12

Post by holytoledo »

ra wrote: post #3

A lot of these principles are great for investigating complex bugs/incidents. e.g: - Assume nothing - Believe nothing - Challenge and check everything - use a mindmap - seek alternative explanations - recruit a devils advocate

So basically be a modern day right winger? Because your first 3 things there get you labeled as such - on HN and elsewhere. The last 3 get you banned.

If we are going to play a game of what you’re allowed to assume and what you aren’t allowed to assume, then you aren’t a detective, you’re a pawn for someone else’s bidding and their strategic movements. Ditto for believing and challenging whatever “facts” you are allowed to believe and challenge.

If you knew the kind of statistics that Pew collects, and how they can be interpreted, you would believe very little indeed.

Re: How to Think Like a Detective

#13

Post by nanomonkey »

jacquesm wrote: post #7
nanomonkey wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love to see a list of these books when they exist: Rex Feral - Hit Man Stick and Rudder: An Explanation of the Art of Flying ... By the way, there is a section of the article where they mention books: The book Blackstone’s Senior Investigating Officers’ Handbook (5th ed, 2019) by Tony Cook is a unique one-stop guide to all the processes and actions involved in conducting major investigations, presented in a clear…

I'd love to read your thesis and I know a few more people who would like to, is it available? edit nm. found it: https://phs.brage.unit.no/phs-xmlui/handle/11250/2428006

I'm not the original author, I just was quoting the last section of the article where it mentioned books. I'm not sure how to do block quotes in HN. Sorry for the confusion.

Re: How to Think Like a Detective

#14

Post by TeeMassive »

holytoledo wrote: post #12
ra wrote: post #3

A lot of these principles are great for investigating complex bugs/incidents. e.g: - Assume nothing - Believe nothing - Challenge and check everything - use a mindmap - seek alternative explanations - recruit a devils advocate

So basically be a modern day right winger? Because your first 3 things there get you labeled as such - on HN and elsewhere. The last 3 get you banned. If we are going to play a game of what you’re allowed to assume and what you aren’t allowed to assume, then you aren’t a detective, you’re a pawn for someone else’s bidding and their strategic movements. Ditto for believing and challenging whatever “facts” you are allo…

I can't believe you introduced partisan politics into a post about how to solve problems. Well I guess not believe in anything is a first step anyway.

Re: How to Think Like a Detective

#15

Post by TeeMassive »

ra wrote: post #3

A lot of these principles are great for investigating complex bugs/incidents. e.g: - Assume nothing - Believe nothing - Challenge and check everything - use a mindmap - seek alternative explanations - recruit a devils advocate

After 10 years of programming I found that I can more and more relate to (good) detective movies, investigative journalism pieces and reading courts decisions and submissions (I have weird hobbies).

I learned that what works best is a systematic approach and what works badly is overlooking certain parts to save time based on intuitive assumptions.

I can't count the number of bugs that took me days because I've just jumped to the "heart" of the problem assuming the rest that got me there was fine. Only to have someone else looking at the problem with less knowledge, going through tings that seemed mundane but who finally gave valuable hints even if they were not problematic themselves.

Re: How to Think Like a Detective

#16

Post by porknubbins »

jacquesm wrote: post #8
ra wrote: post #3

A lot of these principles are great for investigating complex bugs/incidents. e.g: - Assume nothing - Believe nothing - Challenge and check everything - use a mindmap - seek alternative explanations - recruit a devils advocate

The first three have solved just about every problem that I've ever encountered in software, even in systems that I had absolutely no clue about (which made the first two quite natural ;) ). Debugging and troubleshooting isn't art or magic, it's just being very boringly methodical and building from the ground up. A single assumption and you're off to a dead end, a single thing taken on hearsay and you will repeat wha…

Theres a quote I read somewhere (paraphrased) that the scientific method is the slowest method of debugging but it always eventually succeeds. Most bugs are fixable most quickly by intuition, or making a ton of assumptions about where the problem is likely to be. Its usually at my lowest point I decide to resort to “science” and hours later I finally find the problem.

Re: How to Think Like a Detective

#17

Post by Pinus »

jacquesm wrote: post #8
ra wrote: post #3

A lot of these principles are great for investigating complex bugs/incidents. e.g: - Assume nothing - Believe nothing - Challenge and check everything - use a mindmap - seek alternative explanations - recruit a devils advocate

The first three have solved just about every problem that I've ever encountered in software, even in systems that I had absolutely no clue about (which made the first two quite natural ;) ). Debugging and troubleshooting isn't art or magic, it's just being very boringly methodical and building from the ground up. A single assumption and you're off to a dead end, a single thing taken on hearsay and you will repeat wha…

I have noticed that when a Stack Overflow question says "the problem can't possibly be X, because ", that is very often exactly where the problem is (and is a misunderstanding).

Re: How to Think Like a Detective

#18

Post by aspenmayer »

version_five wrote: post #10
jacquesm wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first three have solved just about every problem that I've ever encountered in software, even in systems that I had absolutely no clue about (which made the first two quite natural ;) ). Debugging and troubleshooting isn't art or magic, it's just being very boringly methodical and building from the ground up. A single assumption and you're off to a dead end, a single thing taken on hearsay and you will repeat wha…

Agreed. At the bottom of any long-to-debug issue I've encountered is some assumption I absolutely knew to be beyond suspicion that turned out to be wrong. (That said, it's easy to say in retrospect. In the moment there is always judgement about what to verify first, and of course its always the last thing you check that turns out to be the problem)

Well it would be silly to keep checking once you’ve already found the problem, surely? /s

Re: How to Think Like a Detective

#19

Post by jacquesm »

nanomonkey wrote: post #13
jacquesm wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love to read your thesis and I know a few more people who would like to, is it available? edit nm. found it: https://phs.brage.unit.no/phs-xmlui/handle/11250/2428006

I'm not the original author, I just was quoting the last section of the article where it mentioned books. I'm not sure how to do block quotes in HN. Sorry for the confusion.

Block quote in HN: four space indents will do the job.

    like
    so

Re: How to Think Like a Detective

#20

Post by dragonwriter »

jacquesm wrote: post #19
nanomonkey wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not the original author, I just was quoting the last section of the article where it mentioned books. I'm not sure how to do block quotes in HN. Sorry for the confusion.

Block quote in HN: four space indents will do the job. like so

That's really intended for code blocks, not quotes, and the formatting is atrocious for freeform text (but good for code), and especially bad for text on mobile.
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