31–34 of 34 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Perhaps you ought to assume you are wrong that you were wrong about unit tests. :)
I just try and not hold any viewpoint with any dogmatism now. I'll admit that maybe people will come back and realize that unit tests were stupid, but this time at least I'll know that I was neither a staunch defender or detractor.
I have tried to employ the strategy of "I'm probably wrong all the time". It's not perfect, and occasionally I'll get defensive about something that I find out is wrong later (I was staunchly against unit tests for example), but having a mentality that your mind is fairly fallible is a good way to avoid yelling at people, at least for me. I do wish it were more politically acceptable for politicians to adopt this min…
That’s something on which I have never actually settled my opinion. One month I conclude “nope, unit testing takes too long and offers no net benefit”. The next, I switch - “unit testing is glorious and helps push errors down significantly”.
Part of the reason why my answer to most questions is “I don’t know” or “It depends”.
Biases are built in, it takes effort to be rational.
I have tried to employ the strategy of "I'm probably wrong all the time". It's not perfect, and occasionally I'll get defensive about something that I find out is wrong later (I was staunchly against unit tests for example), but having a mentality that your mind is fairly fallible is a good way to avoid yelling at people, at least for me. I do wish it were more politically acceptable for politicians to adopt this min…
I try to take the approach that everything I think I know is correct, but that I need to reevaluate when presented with new information, and I constantly look for new information to disprove what I know. The subtle difference here is that I assume I'm right, which gives me confidence. I used to doubt everything, which led me to being very noncommittal and unconfident.
It's important to question your assumptions, but it's harmful if you completely distrust them.