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In the talk 'Less Code, More Confidence' by Lucas Tolchinsky, presented at the Paris.rb Conf 2018, the speaker addresses the stress and frustration associated with debugging, particularly in the context of legacy code. Tolchinsky emphasizes the importance of writing clear and understandable code to facilitate easier debugging. He introduces the 'less code' movement, which advocates for simpler, more minimalistic coding practices.

Key points discussed include:

- **Readability**: Code should be written for humans to understand. Tolchinsky shares his experience with a gem he created, 'assert URLs', highlighting that optimizing for readability can significantly reduce debugging time and avoid introducing legacy code.

- **Explicit Content vs. Implicit Content**: The importance of knowing how code works before deploying it is underscored through examples of two Ruby gems: Device and Shield. While Device provides a dangerous level of abstraction that can complicate debugging, Shield makes its strategies explicit, aiding in easier understanding when issues arise.

- **Avoiding Redundancy**: Tolchinsky explains redundancy in code as offering multiple ways to achieve the same outcome, which can lead to inconsistent coding practices. He uses the example of 'Fat', a gem created for safer hash navigation, and emphasizes the value of homogeneity in code for predictability.

- **Flexibility in Code**: He discusses the routing library 'Cuba', illustrating how too much flexibility can lead to over-analysis and discussion rather than efficient coding. The evolution to 'Zero' is presented as a solution that promotes more standardized coding practices across projects.

Tolchinsky concludes by advocating for the adoption of minimalism in coding practices. By optimizing for readability, making solutions explicit, and minimizing redundancy, developers can mitigate the challenges of debugging and reduce the creation of legacy code, ultimately elevating coding to an art form.

Overall, this talk serves as a guide for software developers to embrace principles that lead to cleaner, more manageable code and increased confidence in their work.

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