Curated Content November 2021

A few pieces of content I thought were worthwhile in the month of November.

Articles

How to ask good questions

How to ask good questions
How to ask good questions

Knowing how to ask good questions of your team is key, and this is a great article discussing how to ask your team high quality questions, and feel good about it.

The Feynman Technique

The Feynman Technique: The Best Way to Learn Anything - Farnam Street
The Feynman Technique is a simple method of learning that unlocks your potential and helps you learn anything.

The best way to learn anything is a stretch, but it's a great tool in your belt. Dead simple, distilled into four steps:

  1. Choose a concept you want to learn about
  2. Explain it to a 12 year old
  3. Reflect, Refine, and Simplify
  4. Organize and Review

However, despite it's simplicity, it's a powerful framework for learning, and being able to teach your ideas. It's been a driver in my creation of my Fundamentals of the Software Engineering Process project.

For more on the topic of learning, I'd recommend the book Ultralearning.

Books

Burnout - Emily Nagoski

Geared specifically towards women, I found this book incredible, for you, or women in your life dealing with burnout. Tons of practical tips, and Nagoski's writing style is incredibly funny and engaging while containing plenty of actionable tips and academic references.

Software Engineering at Google - Titus Winters,
Tom Manshreck & Hyrum Wright

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this one. But rather than a set of practices that only make sense at Google-scale, I found a set of excellent, pragmatic engineering practices that I'd recommend for every engineer and every organization