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Misunderstanding

Glenn Vanderburg • August 11, 2011 • Earth

The video presentation titled 'Misunderstanding' by Glenn Vanderburg at the LoneStarRuby Conf 2011 addresses the complexities of reasoning and decision-making in the field of programming. Vanderburg emphasizes the importance of recognizing and engaging with complex problems rather than relying on oversimplified explanations, which can lead to misunderstandings in programming and other areas such as politics, science, and economics.

Key points discussed in the talk include:

- The Complexity of Logic: Vanderburg explains that, as programmers, familiarity with boolean expressions and convoluted logic is part of the profession. However, it becomes essential to simplify those expressions to enhance human understanding.

- Human Bias Towards Simplicity: The speaker highlights the tendency of humans to favor simple explanations, which often causes us to overlook critical complexities. Ignoring these complexities can lead to incorrect conclusions.

- Evaluating Evidence and Reasoning: Vanderburg stresses the necessity of evaluating evidence carefully and reasoning through problems to avoid falling prey to misunderstandings, especially in programming where complexities are prevalent.

- The Role of Skepticism: He shares his perspective on skepticism in the context of science, advocating for a thoughtful approach to conclusions while simultaneously acknowledging his own beliefs as a Christian.

- Practical Application in Programming: Through his discussion, the speaker aims to provide insights into how programmers can think critically about topics that are frequently misinterpreted in the industry.

The talk also hints at an ongoing series of presentations that will further explore various aspects of programming, indicated by the playful reference to naming talks after Genesis songs. The overarching takeaway from Vanderburg's session is the challenge of simplifying complex concepts without losing the essence of their intricacies. He encourages the audience to foster clearer methods of explanation to better communicate complex issues, ultimately aiming to drive home the point that not everything in programming, or any field, can be easily distilled into a simple conclusion.

Misunderstanding
Glenn Vanderburg • August 11, 2011 • Earth

As programmers, we're familiar with complex logic and decisions: complex boolean expressions, long if/else cascades, and convoluted cases. But we quickly learn to avoid them as much as possible, finding ways to simplify. That's because even though computers can handle that complex stuff, we humans like simple logic. We have trouble internalizing complex lines of reasoning. Our bias toward simple explanations shows in all kinds of ways. It affects how we think about politics, science, economics, and yes, programming. And it can lead us astray. Some things really are complicated, and to understand them properly requires thinking about the complexities. If we insist on simple explanations—or just default to them because we don't think very hard about it—we can reach the wrong conclusions. This talk will explore how to think about some important programming topics that are often misunderstood. You may leave the talk with your mind changed. You may simply find your position strengthened. At the very least, I hope you'll learn some new, clear ways of explaining things to those around you, helping them to think clearly about complex issues.

Help us caption & translate this video!

http://amara.org/v/FGdv/

LoneStarRuby Conf 2011

00:00:00.539 (laughs)
00:00:19.220 Welcome! I'm Glenn Vanderburg. Like James, I've spoken at every one of these conferences.
00:00:25.560 Although I actually made it in person last year, that's okay because I didn't have a baby being born that weekend.
00:00:31.080 I didn't know what James was going to talk about, and because I was really bad about getting my topic and abstract to Jim on time, James didn't know what I was going to talk about.
00:00:39.420 I joked with him earlier: two years ago he spoke right after me, and he said, 'Wow, I have to get up here and talk and follow Dave Thomas and Glenn Vanderburg?'
00:00:44.760 But now turnabout's fair play; I knew I'd have to get up here and follow James.
00:00:53.640 I could not have asked for a better setup, though, because I think my talk is really nicely complementary to what James was trying to say.
00:01:01.140 James was talking about science, and I'm going to talk about the thinking aspects of it.
00:01:06.600 How you evaluate the evidence that's in front of you, how you reason through things, and draw conclusions.
00:01:12.960 Also, how you go ahead and get work done and make good decisions when you don't have good evidence.
00:01:18.180 Like James, I am a skeptic. Unlike James, I'm a Christian.
00:01:25.020 Some of you in this room might think those are contradictions in terms.
00:01:31.860 I mention that by way of full disclosure, not that this is a religious talk at all.
00:01:36.960 But if you choose to ignore everything I say based on that, then go ahead.
00:01:43.380 Anyway, the talk is called 'Misunderstanding,' and it's the first in a series of talks I plan to do named after good old Genesis songs.
00:01:51.180 Though the series might be kind of short, because a lot of Genesis songs have titles that are not very appropriate for the kinds of talks I like to give.
00:01:57.720 But I have found a few that might work for software talks about threads, complexity, concurrency, design issues, and language issues.
00:02:03.799 Being a former Java programmer, I really hope to give this one someday.
00:02:09.780 I have bad luck with coming up with themes for naming things; it doesn’t seem to go well.
00:02:17.519 A number of years ago, I was kind of planning a book and had the idea to name all the chapters after jazz pieces that I like.
00:02:24.060 My favorite chapter title for that planned book, which never came to pass, was the name of a Jaco Pastorius song.
00:02:30.720 That chapter title could turn out to be a good name for this talk as well.
00:02:36.000 You might think of this talk as alternately titled 'Three Views of a Secret.'
Glenn Vanderburg
@glv
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