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As a developer, my most important tools are a pen and a notebook

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Re: As a developer, my most important tools are a pen and a notebook

#271

Post by vin047 »

graboid wrote: post #243
reaperducer wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, it's distracting because without an index system (I start each notebook with two blank pages trying to index the contents; every other page has a number) it's easy to get lost. I use a smart pen that writes in a notebook, but also stores everything I write in memory. Every month or so I export the content of the pen to my computer via Bluetooth as OCRed PDFs. This is because my boss often asks me t…

That sounds very intriguing, do you mind sharing the smart pen model?

Not the GP, but I got a Rocketbook from my most recent workplace when I joined. Not quite a smart pen, more like smart paper - each page is grid paper with a QR code at the bottom that you scan with their app to digitise.

Re: As a developer, my most important tools are a pen and a notebook

#272

Post by alfiedotwtf »

adampwells wrote: post #48

I have been writing software for about 20 years (following on from OChem PhD and research for a few years). I am 'senior' and get paid plenty in Oz... I have aphantasia - I can't visualise/picture things in my mind, so I use pen and paper or whiteboards A LOT! I create various ERDs, mind maps, sequence diagrams etc. I use a ReMarkable which makes it a bit easier to move stuff around and makes it more effective. I get…

Same boat - 20 years experience, in Oz, with aphantasia... I've only realise in the past month that I do poorly on Live Coding interviews because since the interview is on the clock I immediately start coding so I have something to show, but since I can't picture anything in my minds eye I'm literally coding blind - rereading the question over and over hoping the solution will come! So after realising this I've started using an A2 notebook to draw out the problem, work my way through the problem on paper, and finally map out a solution (still on paper)

... then like magic, the code comes naturally (I'm guessing that's how normal people think when programming)!

Re: As a developer, my most important tools are a pen and a notebook

#273

Post by alfiedotwtf »

noosphr wrote: post #142
FigurativeVoid wrote: post #124

One of the few things that I miss about working in an office is a large whiteboard and standing in front of it with a colleague. Working on an architecture with a peer and marker really led to some elegant class designs.

I have a 24 inch pen display. The last time I worked as a CTO I bought them for the whole team. Being able to redraw things on a shared digital white board beats having to redraw the same 4 boxes a dozen times because you keep running out of space. Also saves people taking photos of the white board before erasing.

> I bought them for the whole team

I have to say, that's pretty damn cool! I'm such a fan of diagramming code and systems, so having this for everyone on the team I'm guessing would have done wonders!

I now have a A2 paper notebook (I think it's actually supposed to be used as an artist's sketchbook) permanently next to my keyboard (my mouse sits on it) and I can't imagine living without it now... but a 24" pen display, mindblown!

Re: As a developer, my most important tools are a pen and a notebook

#274

Post by tailspin2019 »

thfuran wrote: post #247
safety1st wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sciencey side of this is that writing stuff down boosts memory, retention and learning, even if you immediately throw away what you wrote. Here's one of the hundreds of articles about this, it's a very well documented phenomenon https://www.newscientist.com/article/2414241-writing-things-... Writing by hand also has a greater effect than typing because it engages more of the senses and more of the brain, in parti…

My handwriting was terrible all throughout school, and then I avoided it pretty much entirely for a decade or two. I'm not sure what's left can really be called handwriting. I guess maybe it still works to help recall, but it's barely useful as reference.

FWIW My handwriting (and the experience of writing) improved quite a bit when I switched to fountain pens. I always used to find writing a bit uncomfortable physically, and difficult mentally (due to ADHD) but fountain pens improved the experience somewhat.

You don’t need so much force to be applied to the pen compared to other writing instruments and the more comfortable writing experience helped my ADHD brain better tolerate it to.

Re: As a developer, my most important tools are a pen and a notebook

#275

Post by exe34 »

atrettel wrote: post #221
exe34 wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of paper do you prefer?

I don't have an exact preference on the kind and weight of the paper, but I do prefer notebooks with firmly bound and numbered pages like old-school laboratory notebooks [1]. My problem is that I often do long derivations or work that can span dozens of pages with diagrams, etc. If I use loose leaf paper like printer paper, I often lose track of pages or their order. I tend to label my pages extensively when I have t…

Notebooks are cool, but I prefer printer paper for short term notes. I tend to staple them together if there's more than a few pages. If I need to remember something for longer than the few weeks before I lose the sheets, I take a picture with my phone.

Re: As a developer, my most important tools are a pen and a notebook

#276

Post by fuzztester »

gjadi wrote: post #171
cleak wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The book Smarter Faster Better introduced me to the concept of disfluency - the idea that extra friction such as awkward fonts, new environments, different tools, etc will pull you out of autopilot mode and force you to think in new ways. I haven’t seen references to it elsewhere, but it’s changed how I approach problems and learning the last 9 years. Switching to a notebook is one great way I use to trigger this as…

Interesting. I noticed the same and sometimes I change my emacs theme just to get a fresh perspective. Sometimes I also disable syntax highlighting when typing so I won't get distracted.

I have syntax set to off in my .vimrc file, to have no syntax highlighting at all, and it's off all the time, not just while typing, i.e., even while moving through or changing text (code), or even when just reading it.

I find it much better that way.

Re: As a developer, my most important tools are a pen and a notebook

#277

Post by fuzztester »

brailsafe wrote: post #259
cleak wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The book Smarter Faster Better introduced me to the concept of disfluency - the idea that extra friction such as awkward fonts, new environments, different tools, etc will pull you out of autopilot mode and force you to think in new ways. I haven’t seen references to it elsewhere, but it’s changed how I approach problems and learning the last 9 years. Switching to a notebook is one great way I use to trigger this as…

This is a somewhat wasteful one, but when I really really can't focus or make progress on untangling an issue or if I just want to fully understand a file, I will print out my code on paper and go through it with a red pen line by line. It's rare, but it works just like editing an essay. I notice things I wouldn't otherwise.

That used to be common some years ago, with or without a red pen or any pen.

Re: As a developer, my most important tools are a pen and a notebook

#278

Post by tonyedgecombe »

WalterBright wrote: post #159
aragilar wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are you focusing on what they are saying, rather than what they are writing (there's an important distinction)?

I would copy what they were writing. The professors had 9 blackboards available, and they'd use them all during a 55 minute lecture, and then some. Some would write with their left hand while erasing with the right (!). It was a heluva time for me. Never before or since have I learned so much so fast. Blink and I fell behind. In retrospect, I sorely wished I had set up a cassette recorder and recorded all the audio.…

I never learnt much in those sort of lectures. Eventually I figured out I needed to study the material before the lecture and use the lecture to cement what I had already learnt or occasionally answer questions that had come up.

Re: As a developer, my most important tools are a pen and a notebook

#279

Post by fuzztester »

hinkley wrote: post #204
ednite wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, decades in this field and it finally took your comment to connect my childhood LEGO obsession with coding. Simple enough, but it never actually crossed my mind. The funny thing is, I’ve always linked my love for storytelling to LEGO building, but not coding. Thanks for the insight, that just snapped into place.

Did I love Lego because I was like this, or am I like this because I loved Lego? That'll bake your noodle for a good long while :)

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, did make a sound?

- Zen koan I read a while ago, might have got the wording a bit wrong, but a fun one.

Just googled, and it is Wikipedia too, but "koan" is only in the See also section:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_a_tree_falls_in_a_forest_...

Re: As a developer, my most important tools are a pen and a notebook

#280

Post by fuzztester »

rramadass wrote: post #265
atrettel wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is one of the reasons that I actually take notes in three different media: paper notebooks, an old-school digital voice recorder, and in text files. Different media have different advantages and disadvantages and represent different ideas for more readily. I have used the voice recorder less over the years but I find it optimal when time is limited and I have to move onto something else. Part of using a voice re…

This is what i do too. Paper Notebooks + old-school Digital Voice Recorder (get one which takes replaceable batteries) are a great combo to train oneself to use regularly and consistently for everything.

What recorder make and model do you use?
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