00:00:01.760
Hello and welcome back. Hello, Linda. It's nice to see you.
00:00:06.560
Thank you. It's nice to connect back to ourselves and to nature again. We have a bit of a problem here.
00:00:10.559
Our audience is so astonished by your talk that we don't have any questions. However, I would like to read some comments out loud for you. Dear audience, I know that Linda has been really active in the stream's chat, and what you don't see is what I see — Linda's face.
00:00:20.800
Every time Linda was typing answers for you in the chat, she was smiling, and it was so beautiful. The love surrounding this moment is so touching that I'm going to start crying soon. This is something I absolutely didn't remember; you can actually see my face as well. I can see your faces in front of me, but no worries. I just wanted to convey to our audience how much love you have shown in your answers.
00:01:02.400
Additionally, there was a thought about the pandemic; despite all its drawbacks, it has made conferences much more interesting. Can we bring this to live events later in the normal world? As Mijo mentioned in the comments, we really appreciate you embracing the conference while being remote and pushing your talk to new heights that would be impossible at in-person conferences. I don't think any conference organizers would appreciate someone coming in and saying, 'I want a full-blown kitchen.'
00:01:34.799
However, I love the comments and agree that this year has pushed my way of telling my story into a new direction. Many of you probably noticed some familiar faces from 10 years ago. I've been telling this story about how we could reimagine what technology looks like for quite a long time, and I was getting bored of myself already with just the slides and talking.
00:02:14.080
But when everything stopped for a moment, it gave me a new opportunity to think about how we could tell stories if we were not limited by the conference stage and the traditional setup. I do believe there is something interesting happening in the world of conference software as well. It almost feels like we are on the cusp of creating internet-native software for communities, whether it's Discord, Fortnite, or Minecraft servers.
00:02:51.759
EuRuKo has here, and I’m really excited about the future. I love physical conferences, but I also think they offer so many opportunities. Now that the most stressful parts of the pandemic are behind us, we can definitely learn from love and new ways of engagement.
00:03:36.799
We have two questions: How different is it to teach kids versus software developers? Are we the same? I actually believe you are the same. I’m not sure if this is okay to say, but I think six-year-olds can sometimes be easier to teach because they don't have preconceived notions of what it means to be good or bad.
00:04:11.439
They are not burdened by ego, so in that sense, they are easier to teach. However, kids can also be challenging as an audience; they will give you immediate feedback if their interest is not piqued. Another pandemic project I worked on last year was a series titled 'Computer Science in 60 Seconds.' The idea was to create 60-second short videos explaining the core concepts of computer science, styled like Wes Anderson or Sofia Coppola would.
00:05:01.600
That's where the idea for the mushroom pancake stacking concept came from. We played with making ideas visible; many universities have been using these videos as an additional pathway into programming. So in that sense, I think every beginner is a beginner and requires empathy and kindness from the instructor.
00:05:39.920
That said, adults do have self-imposed boundaries and fears that children do not. We should learn from children. Sometimes we fixate too much on learning specific skills or technologies, like going into a project wanting to learn a new React framework. In contrast, children have a different application for their learning; most of my teaching revolves around instilling curiosity, fearlessness, and creativity regarding technology, rather than focusing on a specific thing.
00:06:00.960
I believe those attitudes will assist in long-term success. Well said! Here’s another question: How can we, mere mortal developers, help people learn to code? I can share some thoughts about my background in the Ruby community, which helped me see the human side of technology and made me fall in love with both the people coding and the expression of the code itself.
00:06:40.160
It took me a while to get here. In 2009 or 2010, when I first started programming, it felt very remote and distant. Then I discovered work by Matzi and started visiting conferences, meeting passionate individuals who were excited and brimming with enthusiasm for what they were doing. I realized there was a whole community of people who care.
00:07:31.600
I think showing that passion and care is key to inspiring others. There’s a line from the poet Mary Oliver that resonates: 'Attention is the beginning of devotion.' This suggests that whatever we pay attention to, we learn to love. Often, technology and coding are seen as out of reach for those who don’t code, creating a gap in understanding.
00:08:13.119
The best way to help laypeople learn about technology is to talk about what excites you. Encourage them to pay attention in a friendly, non-preachy way. Also, explain that tech is a tool for creating a better world. There are many communities and opportunities for volunteering that can make a significant impact.
00:08:58.599
This is an amazing opportunity. One question stood out: 'Why questions sound familiar to me. How can we contribute to building a healthier tech environment where we focus more on why and what we do?' It begins with imagination. To be curious about the world, we need imagination. Often, the narratives around technology lean towards dystopia.
00:09:50.000
There are very few examples, like certain episodes of Black Mirror, which offer a vision that is not purely dystopian. We’ve lost that perspective, perhaps due to the rapid progress in the software field, leading us to feel like semi-gods who think we’ve already created the ideal world.
00:10:49.839
In some ways, that's true, but we need a kind of utopian thinking about what we can achieve next and how we can guide the industry. I find myself looking at history, particularly the 1960s. They embodied a 'can-do' spirit that drove excitement around technology. I’m interested in which communities drove change and influenced the technology we have today, as the technology lifecycle can be long.
00:11:56.160
So, one answer to the question is to imagine utopias and not believe we are at the pinnacle of technology right now. While in some respects that notion is ingrained, we need to remain open to possibilities. Thank you for the great answers. The audience has commented on your inspiring responses, and as we approach the end of our event, a huge thank you to you, Linda.
00:12:34.999
You can still catch Linda in the stream chat and on Discord.