The Skill Issue: Why Engineers Who Dismiss AI Won't Make It
When you see others achieving 4-minute miles with new tools while you're stuck at 8 minutes making excuses, you don't have a tool problem, you have a skill issue.
Mastery
Mastery & Craft
Mastery is the result of deliberate practice, deep work, and an unwavering commitment to craft. It's about building expertise that matters, finding flow states, and understanding that true mastery is not a destination but a lifelong journey of continuous improvement and refinement.
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Articles on Mastery
Featured Articles
Why Clean Test Output Matters: A Developer's Guide to Noise-Free Testing
Clean test output isn't just about aesthetics, it's about developer productivity, debugging efficiency, and maintaining code quality. When your test suite runs quietly and only speaks up when something's wrong, you can focus on what matters: building great software.
The Path to Excellence and Fulfillment: Areté and Eudaimonia in Modern Life
True success isn't about external achievements—it's about mastering yourself. Learn how to integrate Areté and Eudaimonia into your daily life for deep fulfillment.
Ripples of Ruin or Reward: Why Great Leaders Master the Long Game
Every decision creates ripple effects. Learn how to see beyond the immediate impact and think like a master strategist to build long-term success.
All Mastery Articles
Learning Velocity: The Compound Advantage
The speed at which you can absorb, process, and apply new information becomes the ultimate edge in today's fast-paced world.
Alignment: 4/5
The Skill Issue: Why Engineers Who Dismiss AI Won't Make It
When you see others achieving 4-minute miles with new tools while you're stuck at 8 minutes making excuses, you don't have a tool problem, you have a skill issue.
Alignment: 4/5
Why Clean Test Output Matters: A Developer's Guide to Noise-Free Testing
Clean test output isn't just about aesthetics, it's about developer productivity, debugging efficiency, and maintaining code quality. When your test suite runs quietly and only speaks up when something's wrong, you can focus on what matters: building great software.
Alignment: 4/5
Intent-Aware, or Nowhere: Building for Cognition in the Age of AI
Everyone's racing to build Model Context Protocols, but they're solving the wrong problem. You're not building for operators—you're building for agents that interpret, decide, and act.
Alignment: 4/5
😵 When ActiveRecord::Relation Fails You (and Your Test Isn't Broken... Until It Is)
Your test looks fine. The records match. But sometimes it passes, sometimes it fails. Uncover the hidden gotchas of comparing ActiveRecord Relations in Rails tests.
Alignment: 4/5
Playing the Hand You're Dealt: Decision-Making with Imperfect Info
Leadership is a high-stakes game where the cards are rarely all face-up. Learn how to read the room, filter the noise, and make winning decisions.
Alignment: 4/5
The Path to Excellence and Fulfillment: Areté and Eudaimonia in Modern Life
True success isn't about external achievements—it's about mastering yourself. Learn how to integrate Areté and Eudaimonia into your daily life for deep fulfillment.
Alignment: 5/5
Ripples of Ruin or Reward: Why Great Leaders Master the Long Game
Every decision creates ripple effects. Learn how to see beyond the immediate impact and think like a master strategist to build long-term success.
Alignment: 5/5
The Future of Education is Here, and Parents Are Taking Charge
Discover how AI-driven, adaptive learning is reshaping education. Parents no longer have to wait for change—they can take charge today.
Alignment: 4/5
How to Know If a Team Has Stopped Creating Tech Debt
Tech debt isn't just about cleanup—it's about discipline. If a team is still making the same mistakes, they're not solving the problem, just hitting reset.
Alignment: 4/5
7 Game-Changing Lessons Every Junior Developer Needs to Learn
Most developers spend years learning these lessons the hard way. You don't have to. Master these principles now and take control of your dev career.
Alignment: 4/5
AI-Native Development: The Next Evolution is Here
AI isn't coming. It's here. The teams that master AI-native development now will define the future of product delivery. Learn how to navigate this shift and accelerate your team.
Alignment: 4/5
You're More Ready Than You Think: How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome as a New Software Engineer
Struggling with imposter syndrome as a new software engineer? Learn why you're more ready than you think, and how to build confidence through action and learning.
Alignment: 4/5
Private Class Methods in Ruby
Dive into the world of private class methods in Ruby. Understand their purpose, implementation, and when they're the right choice for your code.
Alignment: 4/5
Arete & Eudaimonia: The Cornerstone Philosophy of Excellence
The path to true excellence isn't found in quick fixes or surface, level achievements. It's discovered through the ancient wisdom of arete and eudaimonia, principles that have guided the greatest minds for over 2,000 years.
Alignment: 5/5
When to Use Concerns vs Service Objects in Rails
Struggling to decide between concerns and service objects in Rails? This guide dives into the pros and cons of each approach, helping you choose the right tool for clean, scalable, and testable code.
Alignment: 4/5
ChatGPT vs Human Tutors: The Future of Learning
Discover how ChatGPT is changing the landscape of education and tutoring, while understanding the unique value that human tutors bring to the learning experience.
Alignment: 4/5
Revitalizing Legacy Code: Five Steps to Successful Refactoring
Master the art of legacy code refactoring with a practical five-step approach that helps you modernize your codebase while maintaining stability and reliability.
Alignment: 4/5
Flipping the Switch: How to Turn On and Off Your Abilities
Discover the art of mental switching - how to activate and deactivate different aspects of your personality and skills to excel in various contexts.
Alignment: 4/5
Three Aspects of Product Management You Need to Master
Product managers need to be proficient in three key areas: technical skills, data analysis, and empathy for customers. Neglecting any one of these areas can lead to difficulties in successfully managing a product. However, a well-rounded product manager who excels in all three areas can drive success by delivering innovative products that meet customer needs, are technically sound, and supported by data-driven decision-making.
Alignment: 4/5
Balance is a Great Way to Be Mediocre
Explore why the pursuit of perfect balance might be holding you back, and learn how embracing strategic imbalance can lead to extraordinary results.
Alignment: 4/5
Finding Time for Innovation
Discover practical approaches to balance daily responsibilities with innovation initiatives, ensuring your organization stays competitive and forward-thinking.
Alignment: 4/5
Price's Law: Understanding the Power Law Distribution of Knowledge
Discover how Price's Law explains the distribution of knowledge and productivity in organizations, and learn how to leverage this understanding for better team management.
Alignment: 4/5
Fulfill Your Destiny by Performing Under Pressure
Discover how to harness pressure as a catalyst for growth and achievement, turning challenging situations into opportunities for success.
Alignment: 4/5
Code Smells: Identifying and Fixing Common Programming Issues
Discover how to recognize and fix common code smells, making your code more maintainable, efficient, and easier to understand.
Alignment: 4/5
What Are You Willing to Sacrifice to Get an Edge?
Discover how strategic sacrifices can give you the edge you need to excel in your personal and professional life.
Alignment: 4/5
Mind Stops Before the Body Does
Discover why your mind often gives up before your body does, and how to overcome these mental barriers to achieve more.
Alignment: 4/5
Environment Aids in Skill Acquisition
Discover the importance of creating the right environment for effective learning and skill development.
Alignment: 4/5
Autonomy vs Performance
Learn how to strike the right balance between giving teams autonomy while maintaining high performance standards.
Alignment: 4/5
10 Questions To Ask Ourselves Every Week to Continue Improving
Are you looking to make self-improvements in your life? These 10 questions can help guide your reflection and introspection to better understand your values, strengths, weaknesses, and goals. From identifying what led to your biggest achievements to examining your responses to challenges, these questions can help you better understand yourself and your path towards personal growth. Take a moment to ask yourself these questions and discover what you can learn about yourself and your journey to self-improvement.
Alignment: 4/5
My Daily Standup Is Keeping Me from Being Awesome
Discover why traditional daily standups might be holding your team back, and how to make them more effective.
Alignment: 4/5
What is the Difference Between Scrum vs Kanban?
I see a lot of new teams search endlessly for the best process for to use. They tend to ask what is best for us? Which usually devolves into Scrum vs Kanban. I am firm believer in experiencing them to understand, but one could argue you have to start somewhere. For those seeking here is a very brief quick side by side view.
Alignment: 3/5
How Do You Define Your Bootedness
Using metaphors to describe being booted with the Core Protocols.
Alignment: 4/5
How to Plan Software : Six Ways to Improve Your Scrum Planning Meeting
Six ways to improve your scrum planning meeting.
Alignment: 4/5
Calculating Lead Times While Waiting at the Motor Vehicle Department
How to estimate everyday things.
Alignment: 3/5
Should Senior Developers Pair Program?
I am a proponent of pairing (not just for programming). Anytime I introduce it to a new team I get a number of objections. The most prominent is that pairing slows me down (because I am so awesome and everyone else sucks so bad).
Alignment: 4/5
Productivity Wednesday #5 : Boomerang for GMail
Sometimes when Getting Things Done, you need a little more power in your inbox than the default. Boomerang for GMail is the extra horsepower you need.
Alignment: 3/5
5 Ways to Tell if Your DevOps Relationship is Failing You
Going to cross-functional teams for product delivery is always interesting, but DevOps seems to be particularly loaded in it's meaning. How to tell if your DevOps relationship is failing you?
Alignment: 3/5
Hierarchy of Reading
Abraham Maslow made the concept of hierarchies of progression in systems popular via his work on a hierarchy of needs. Here is a theory about the hierarchy of different types of readers.
Alignment: 4/5
Desert Code Camp 2011.1
Desert Code Camp has opened it's call for suggestions. This is a great FREE event that brings together technologists of all kinds together at a single location to learn (while feeding them breakfast and lunch) new technologies, improve on existing technology or share your favorite technology. There has been a good dynamic languages track in addition to a strong Microsoft track. There has been a track for kids (Gangplank Jr) and even sessions on sales or running a business.
Alignment: 4/5
Opening Lines From Great Minds
It is no secret, I love books. One of my favorite things to read is autobiographies. I enjoy them because I love to hear the authors reflect back on how they got started. A glimpse of what made them who they became.
Alignment: 3/5
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