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David Heinemeier Hansson is a partner at 37signals, a privately-held Chicago-based company committed to building the best web-based tools possible with the least number of features necessary. 37signals' products include Basecamp, Highrise, Backpack, Campfire, Ta-da List, and Writeboard. 37signals' products do less than the competition -- intentionally. He is also the creator of Ruby on Rails.
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In this keynote speech at Rails Conf 2012, David Heinemeier Hansson, the creator of Ruby on Rails and a partner at 37signals, explores the concept of progress within the context of software development. Heinemeier Hansson shares insights from his decade-long experience with Ruby on Rails, emphasizing the importance of continuous progress in keeping developers engaged with the framework and the community. Key points discussed during the presentation include: - **Defining Progress**: Progress is generally viewed positively, but Heinemeier Hansson challenges the audience to think critically about the kind of progress that is not universally accepted. He argues that true progress often provokes discomfort and debate within the community. - **Examples of Progress**: The speaker cites various instances in which advancements, such as the introduction of REST and the asset pipeline in Rails, met with resistance despite their eventual acceptance. He covers the transition to Ruby 1.9, Bundler, Rails 3, and Coffeescript, showing how these changes were initially met with skepticism. - **Curiosity vs. Suspicion**: Heinemeier Hansson highlights a common transition from being curious about new technologies to becoming suspicious of them, which he associates with loss aversion. He describes how developers often resist progress after experiencing frustrations or failures associated with upgrades or new features. - **Age and Experience**: The speaker compares the evolution of attitudes toward progress with aging, suggesting that as developers accumulate knowledge, they may become conservative in their approach to new technologies out of fear of losing what they have. - **Loss Aversion**: He discusses how a fear of loss inhibits progress and calls for a mental shift from suspicion to curiosity, suggesting that embracing change is crucial for ongoing development. In conclusion, Heinemeier Hansson advocates for maintaining a youthful, curious mindset when facing technological changes. Instead of fearing those changes, developers should embrace progress, acknowledging its difficulties as part of the learning process. He encourages the audience to stay engaged with the evolution of technology, suggesting that doing so will lead to personal and community growth in the software domain. The overarching message is a rallying cry to "stay young, stay curious, stay hippie."
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