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The Programmer's Brain: What every programmer needs to know about cognition

#Learning #Software #Brain

Yesterday I finished reading this very interesting book by Felienne Hermans, in which she talks about how our brain works and explains how it can help us become better at software development and beyond:) The book has four parts:

  1. On reading code better We are rewarded with reading code more often than writing it, and we are not taught much about it, so the author begins by correcting this injustice. It is here that the author talks about the model of brain work with STM. (short term memory), LTM (long term memory) and working memory. If you allow yourself a metaphor, then STM is similar to RAM and contains order. 2-6 LTM is similar to SSD-type long-term memory and is not very time-limited, and working memory resembles a processor and is used for cpu intensive operations:) Then this model is used throughout the book and acquires details.
  2. On thinking about code Much attention is paid to mental models and useful abstractions, their development, use and updating:)
  3. On writing better code - it talks about naming issues, how to reduce cognitive load and improve your problem solving skills
  4. On collaborating on code Here the author talks about different activities while working with the code. (searching, comprehension, transciption, incrementation, exploration)How these activities load our STM, LTM and working memeory. And then we talk about how to design and work with large systems and analyze their quality from the point of view of cognitive dimensions. Well, the author ends with a story about how to board new developers.

The book reviews a lot of scientific research on the topic of consciousness, memory, problem solving. The author does transfer learning and explains how these studies work in development.

P.S. Reports by the author on a similar topic

#Learning #Software #Brain